From the case files of Richard Castle, FBI
by TheBlackHand724
Summary: This is the sequel to Richard Castle FBI. This story covers Castle's stint as a Jr. FBI Agent. It continues the story of Rick becoming a full Agent.
1. Chapter 1

AN!: This is the Sequel to Jr. Agent Richard Castle FBI. Which is the sequel to Of Officers and Agents. If you haven't read those stories then you're going to be very lost. This story takes place right after those two stories and it has a bunch of OCs. this is also a Castle/ Jordan Shaw story. If you're a Hard core Caskett shipper this might not be the story for you.

The Mayor's Ball

Jordan looked across the table at her uncle who sat bookended by two OPR agents she didn't know. She looked at her side of the table. She was on the end. Peter was next to her. To his left was Diana. Sitting next to her was Jones, and at the end was Kate Beckett. Her uncle started the tape recorder. "This OPR hearing is in regards to the incident that occurred two days ago on December 20, 2012. The incident in question is the robbing of the first national bank of New York by Confidential Informant Neal Caffrey, and Jr. Agent Richard Castle." Sam said.

Jordan shook her head and sighed, Rick just had to play Super Agent. She thought.

"This incident resulted in the deaths of two of the three Macready brothers, as well as the capture of their three other crew members. This ended their month long bank robbery spree. This meeting is to cover not only this incident but also a number of other incidents spanning the six months since Jr. Agent Castle began working for the FBI. Our findings and your testimony will result in not just a title change for a number of agents but also in the way we handle things from here out. Special Agent Shaw, as Head of his department, where do you think we should begin?" Rooker asked.

"I Think we should start with July 20, 2012. The Mayor's Ball." Jordan said pulling out the case file from her box labeled Castel. Most Jr. Agents had a small file. The good ones hand a big file. Jr. agents headed for great things in the FBI had a few files. Castle needed three boxes. She didn't think she could be more proud of him.

. . .

Rick sat up in his hospital bed, and groaned through the pain. "Remind me why I can't take any pain meds?" Rick asked his favorite Doctor.

"Because we have to see if the stitches are going to hold up to you walking around, and if you're all hopped up on pain meds you won't bleed through your bandages." Dr. Sterling said smiling.

"And bleeding through my bandages is good?" Rick asked as he stood up straight for the first time since getting shot four days ago. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.

"How else are we going to see which stitch you popped?" The doctor asked.

"Well how are we doing so far?" Rick asked through clenched teeth as the doctor prodded and poked his stitches.

"Better then most, usually I tell patients to skip the pain meds and stand up, and I get a string of curse words and a look like I'm crazy." The doctor said looking at his three small wounds.

"Yes well, I have to get out of this place today." Rick said in a choked wheeze as the doctor pressed hard on his stitches to see if they could handle the stress of daily walking around.

"Something important happening today?" The doc asked reapplying some gauze.

"I'm being awarded all four service medals today at noon, it's the first time someone has ever gotten all of them at once. Then I'm driving out to my summer house to attend the Mayor's ball tonight, in a little under twelve hours." Rick said breathing through the fading pain.

"Well congratulations on winning the medals and on making a really good recovery. You're healing nicely, your stitches are holding up very well and your wounds are nice and pink." The doctor said as Jordan came in holding a garment bag. "Hello Agent Shaw. Rick was just saying he wants to get out today, and shockingly, he can. I'll have a nurse come by with some mild pain meds, and a care package so you can keep changing that dressing." The doctor said rubbing hand sanitizer on his hands and arms.

"Good, I want to get out of here, take a shower and lay on my own bed for an hour or two before we have to go." Rick said sitting back on the bed "Is the press still out there?" He asked Jordan.

"Still out there, they want to see you. Get a good quote from you about the shooting." Jordan said rolling her eyes. "It's not bad enough they had to write about you getting shot but they want you to smile and play up to the cameras."

"You're telling me, I had to talk to the girls for over an hour to get them to calm down. I'm just glad they don't know about the other shooting. I don't like lying to them, I really don't like the lie coming out in the press." Rick muttered as he shifted around to get comfortable.

"How's the pain?" She asked.

"Not too bad. I don't think I can drive today and as much as I'd like to dance with you tonight, I might be sitting a lot." Rick said.

"I don't care, as long as I get to sit with you tonight. As long as I get to hold you tonight, and sleep next to you and maybe, fool around a little bit." She said smiling.

"You have no idea how much I want that. The girls have been gone for a week and we haven't been together at all." He said holding her hand.

"It's your fault Super Agent. I spent most of the week in our big ass bed, alone." She said hugging his shoulder.

"Our bed, dose that mean you're agreeing to move in with me so you don't have to go back to your crappy apartment?" He asked smiling.

"No, I'm moving in with you because I love you, fool." She said lovingly before smiling. "And I may have seen a rat when I went back on Thursday." She said trying not to laugh.

"So I'm just a convent living arrangement? A nice place to come home to?" He asked touching her face.

"A nice person to come home to more like it." She said kissing him.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." The nurse said coming in with a stack of boxes.

"You are, go away. I'm trying to get lucky." Rick said smiling.

"Well, If you give me a few minutes of your time Agent Castle you can get out of here and then you can do whatever you like." She said setting the boxes on the bed side table.

"Right, you have my attention." He said sitting up.

"Good, take this." She said handing him a little cup with two pills. "This will help with the pain but not put you down, as you requested."

"Good, I want to be able to go back to work next week." He said.

"For light duty. No gunfights, car chases, and no practical testing allowed. Bosses orders." Jordan said.

"You're not my boss." He said smiling.

"No, Ken is, and he's the one that said it, not me. For the next two weeks you're going to take it slow." She said turning back to the nurse. "What else do we need?" She asked.

"I just have to show you how to dress his wounds and you guys can go." she said smiling at the two of them.

A half hour later Rick and Jordan came out of the hospital and were met by a big group of reporters that all started shouting questions at him. Rick let go of Jordan's hand so she could get her car. Rick held up his hands for quite.

"I'll make one brief statement and then I have to go. As most of you know I have an award presentation to get to in a few hours and I'd like to take a real shower." He said with his trademark charming smile. Which set the group off laughing.

"Now, the reason I was in the hospital is because I was a part of a team of agent that executed a "arrest on sight warrant" on Vincent Adler Tuesday morning. Adler had five armed guards that fired on the team of FBI agents. Because I have the luck of a black cat walking over a broken mirror I was the only one hurt. I sustained two gun shots to the vest and a third shot grazed my right arm. For most of you this is information you already have. But I think there's something you all forgot to add to your stories. I was one of seven agents that entered that house, and I was not the only one to get shot at. I know you guys like writing about me because of my old job, but you all seem to forget that I'm not a writer anymore. I'm not famous, I'm not anything other then one of the countless FBI agents that go to work everyday. Because you guys splash my picture on the front page of your newspapers all the time I can't do undercover work. I would really appreciate it if you would not follow me around or take photos of me. You might end up getting a photo of an agent undercover and get that agent killed. Think about that before you camp out front of my hospital room, or my house. Your photo of me could get someone killed. Unless I call a press conference don't report on me. I'm asking you nicely. If you don't honor my request I will arrest anyone trying to take my picture. It's a crime to take photos of Law Enforcement Officers. I've always been good to you guys in the past. Now I'm asking you to do the same. I'm not going to cut you guys off all together, if I have something worth reporting on I'll call you. See you guys in a few hours." Rick said smiling as he got into Jordan's car.

"So, do you think they'll respect your wishes?" Jordan asked as she drove back to the apartment.

"They better or they'll end up in jail. I'm not kidding, and to prove it I'm going to arrest the first paparazzi that takes my picture, and if they get the charges dropped I'll sue them and the publication they work for. This isn't a joke. When I own the Ledger after my team of lawyers bankrupts the paper then they'll see how much I'm not joking. Neal is playing in the Saturday night game in a room full of very bad guys every two weeks. He came to the hospital twice before they showed up and he was coming over Thursday until I called him. One curious reporter puts two and two together and Neal ends up in the Hudson." Rick said.

"You always have to find the very worst case sanario don't you? But you're right. Me and you can end up on the front page but anyone else does and it could be bad." She said as they made their way through the traffic heading back to his place.

"I don't want to take credit for things I didn't do but if it keeps the heat off the teams I'll get up in front of the press and smile like a fool. Speaking of the teams how did they do on the tests Wednesday. They would have got the scores back by now." Rick asked smiling.

"Your Jr. agents are making huge leaps. All of them scored very high with Melissa making the biggest leap. She scored an 85. In fact all of them scored at least an 75. That's passing. You should be very proud Rick." She said smiling.

"Good. Will called me yesterday and said he and Mike were shadowing Espo and Ryan on a crime scene. A nasty case of lovers rage. Mike even spotted a possible murder weapon." Rick said.

"I know, I let them go yesterday. They've been bugging me for case work. You passed on the case bug to them. And Peter has been keeping Melissa and her team busy upstairs all week. They caught a case. One of Neal's old friends. I'm surprised Peter didn't call you two days ago to tell you about it." She said as they pulled up to the front of his building.

"Must have slipped his mind. What did Neal do?" Rick asked as he leaned on his cane next to her. Nothing was wrong with his legs but he was unsteady on his feet thanks to the pain and the meds.

"He flipped on him the second he spotted his work on the conference room screen. Then he roped Mizzie into helping to bring the guy in. I'm sure he'll tell you all about it. I've never seen Peter so happy." Jordan said as she opened the door to the apartment with his keys. "You're probably going to need these back." She said jingling his keys before tossing them on the table by the door.

"We need to make you and Kelly a copy." He said.

"Already taken care of. I put an order in with the building manager for two keys. Until then the door men can let us in if we come home alone." She said leading him up the stairs.

"Well move right in why don't you." Rick said poking her in the side and making her jump.

"Oh shut up, like you haven't been trying to talk me into moving in for the last four days." She said mildly defensive. There relationship was moving fast and she hoped she didn't overstep her bounds.

"Relax hot stuff. I was just kidding. But I am mildly shocked I don't see boxes. At the first sign of rats I know you would have packed up the good stuff and brought it over." He said smirking.

"You think you know me sooo well Mr. smart guy." She said helping him pull off his shirt as they made their way to the master bathroom and his big shower.

"Your telling me all your stuff is still at your place?" Rick asked as he watched her pull off her shirt and drop her jeans.

"No, all the boxes are in the guest room." She said dropping her bra and walking into the bathroom as he stood there staring.

"Ah Ha! So I was right!" He said to an empty bedroom.

"Well smart guy, are you coming?" She called from the bathroom.

"Your damn right I am." He said trying to drop his jeans and walk at the same time. He tripped landed on the bed and bounced back into a standing position with his pants off. "Holly crap!" he said shaking his head.

"I'm waiting! You okay out there? I'm starting to rethink this sexy come hither routine." She asked from the doorway.

"You kidding? Chasing you is half the fun." He said grabbing her around the waist and pulling her into the shower.

An hour later Jordan curled up next to Rick on the bed. "I've missed you." She said kissing his shoulder.

"Your telling me. You think laying in an uncomfortable hospital bed was fun? Especially when I know this was waiting at home." He said tracing his fingers up her back.

"Well we have plenty of time to catch up, but right now we have to get dressed you have the honor of being called super agent by Tim. I'm sure he's going to love it." She said hopping up off the bed.

"I love watching you." He said as she pulled two suits from the closet. A black suit for him and a gray one for her.

"You like staring at my body. Not that I'm complaining." She said smiling.

"No it's not that, well not totally that. You move with the grace of a predator. All lean muscle under taut flesh. It's sexy." He said rolling out of bed.

"You might not be writing books anymore but you still know how to spin a line agent Castle." She said walking over to him. As she got near she saw red on his side. "Oh God Rick! You're bleeding." She said checking his side.

"I'm sure it's fine." He said.

"No, you're bleeding. You must have ripped something when we…"

"When you were ravaging my sexy body. It happens. Slap a bandage on it. It'll be fine." He said pulling her up to kiss her.

"It's not fine. You're hurt, and we need to take better care of you. I knew pushing things this fast as soon as you got out of the hospital was a mistake. We should have…"

"We should have gone again. You need to stop worrying about me. You've done enough of that. God knows I've been the worst since we've been together. I've gone from one hospital stay to the next without any time for us. I'm sorry about that. Now let's slap a bandage on and get this awards thing over with. Then we can came back here and wait for the other couples." He said.

"It's just, I, you're hurt and I need to look after you. That's what being with someone is. It's looking after each other. Your hurt. I look after you. When I'm hurt you can look after me. But right now we need to see if I ripped your stitches." She said.

"Okay, but you can't treat me like I'm made of glass. These last three weeks aside. I'm used to taking care of… you know, other people, this feeling of being weak. Of relying on you. On everyone, really sucks. I've been biting my tongue, but I hate feeling weak. Playing the supporter for the last three years has made me feel strong. Confident even and with you. I feel weak. You're so strong Jordan. Strong and confident, and powerful. You don't need me, hell you don't need anyone. So when you take care of me, it makes me try harder to prove myself. This last week was me trying to prove myself. To the higher ups at the office. To myself. But mostly to you. And I know it's stupid. But some times I need to feel tough and strong too. Even if I'm bleeding and hurt. Even if I'm limping and stuck on light duty at work. So bandage me up lady and lets go. The faster we do this the more time I get to sit on the couch and hold my woman." He said smiling.

"Rick, I had no idea, I mean I get it. I guess I'm just used to having to be the strong one." She said kissing him.

"No, I get it too. But it's good we can talk about it." He said as she pulled the kit from her bag and stuck the big adhesive bandage to his side.

"So am I, now lets get moving." She said smacking him on the ass but she also kissed him.

The awards presentation was about as boring as one could imagine. Rick, Jordan, and Ken stood next to Tim on a small stage in front of the FBI Office building. Tim gave a little speech about how honored he was to have Rick as an agent. It was funny how a week could change his tune. But Rick stood tall and proud when Tim draped the four medals over his head. His speech, a slight variation of the one he gave to the press earlier, was given again and the gathered press got the message this time. His days as a celebrity were over. When the presentation was over they all walked back into the lobby and Tim beat a hasty retreat.

Rick looked at his medals and smiled. Ken patted him on the shoulder.

"I've done the job a long time Rick, and I've won all of those before. We always say it's an honor to serve. To just do the job. But the medals add something to it. Not the trinkets themselves. Sure those are nice. And the small pins they give you to put on your lapel add a little bit more status to your suits. But the glow of getting them, that stays with you for a while. I can't tell you if it will last your whole career as an agent, but for a few years. You'll get up in the morning, and add the pins to your jacket, and feel like a fucking hero. Always keep that feeling kid. That feeling helps you get through the tough cases and the long nights at the office. I'm proud of you Rick. In one week you've proven yourself to everyone. Now keep it up. But, try not to get shot again." He said laughing.

"I will Ken. Thanks for taking me on as your Jr. Agent." Rick said.

"You kidding? It's been one of the best decisions I've ever made. Right up there with training Jordan and handing over the department a few years back. Now rest up kid we have work to do." Ken said patting Rick on the back and hugging Jordan before he walked away.

"I really like that man. He's like Yoda. Wise and calm." Rick said as they walked out to her car.

"Sure, you get Yoda. Back when I was a Jr. he was like Darth Vader." She said.

"Nice Star Wars pull. When are the others meeting us?" He asked as they headed back to the apartment.

"Soon, around one." She said looking at the clock on her dash. It was half past noon.

"We should stop at Caries and pick up some pastries. We don't have much at the house."

A half hour later and Neal and Sara were the first ones to arrive. "I caught the press conference Rick. You were taking about me weren't you?" Neal asked.

"The undercover agent line? You're damn right I was. The last thing you need is your picture in the paper. You're job is undercover work." Rick said shaking his hand and hugging Sara.

"Thanks Rick. I didn't even think about that until you called me yesterday." Neal said.

"That's his thing. He's a walking black cloud." Jordan said offering them coffee and pastries.

"I got the car. It's downstairs right now, you want to see it?" Neal asked waving a silver Z key chain around.

"You're damn right I do." Rick said following Neal to the door. In the hall they saw Peter and Elizabeth. "Were going to see Neal's car." He said to Peter causing the other man to turn around and follow them back into the elevator.

"Boys." Elle said rolling her eyes as she walked into the apartment.

"Neal has been obsessed with that car since he picked it up." Sara said smiling.

"I'm not saying a word, when I first got my car I did the same thing." Jordan said around her mouth full of cheese Danish.

"Are those from Carrie's?" Elle asked spotting the pink boxes.

"Yes." Jordan said going to answer the door for Diana and Christie.

"Sorry we're late. Someone didn't pack until this morning." Diana said looking at her embarrassed girlfriend.

"I just came off a 36 hour shift." Christie said pouting.

"That's okay you two, the boys are all outside looking at Neal's new car." Jordan said letting them in.

"Don't let her off the hook that easy or she'll be doing it forever." Diana said.

"So you're trying to shame her into packing in advance?" Elle asked laughing.

"It worked with her leaving her bras all over the house." Diana said.

"No you just didn't say that! It's been like forever since I did that." Christie said.

"See it worked." Diana said getting a cup of coffee.

"You two are adorable." Jordan said laughing.

Rick, Neal, and Peter came back laughing ten minutes later. "I see everyone is here. Good, let's pack up the rest of the pastries and hit the road. The faster we get to the house the faster you ladies can start getting ready." Rick said grabbing his Ferreira key off the hook and tossing it to Peter. "You're driving my 458. Have fun." Rick said laughing at Peter's shocked face.

"I can't, what if I scratch it, or break it, or crash it?" Peter asked.

"It's fully insured and I know a guy that can get me another one for a fraction of the list price, now let's get moving." Rick said laughing.

The road trip out to the Hamptons was fun, with Jordan driving Rick's black Camaro at the front of the pack setting a fast pace. They made it out to Rick's house in record time and Rick helped them find rooms. He put Neal and Sara on the first floor to help control the awkward noises that might happen over the weekend.

After they all picked rooms there was a knock at the door and an army of stylist were standing out front. "Surprise Ladies. Professional hair and makeup artists. One for each of you. Have fun, the guys will be out back. I want to show you my dream car." Rick said smiling.

"This is awesome Rick!" Elle said.

"Champagne is in the chiller next to the wine rack. The party starts at nine, and we're right down the street so take your time." Rick said leading the men out the back door.

At nine Rick lead the pack of cars in his 458, most of the cars were his that he lent out so they could arrive in style. Peter was in his Cobra and Diana was driving his DB4. Neal took his own car. They all blended in with the rich and famous attending the party and they were all shocked when the Mayor greeted Rick like an old friend.

"Rick! So good you could make it. How's the ribs?" Mayor Mike Baylor asked pulling Rick into a loose hug.

"And miss your charity ball? I haven't miss this thing in eight years. You know how I love the cause." Rick said pulling back.

"Well your signed copy of the Niki Heat manuscript will hopefully pull in some nice bids. I'm hoping we can go for a record this year." Baylor said.

"Mike I'd like you to meet my lovely lady Special Agent Jordan Shaw." Rick said pulling Jordan over.

"The Fed that captured Rick's heart." Mike said shaking Jordan's hand.

"It's an honor to meet you Mayor Baylor." Jordan said calmly with the grace and poise of royalty.

"The honor is all mine Agent Shaw." Mike said.

"And this is the rest of my table. Meet Agent Peter Burk, and his wife Elizabeth." Rick said guiding the mayor around the group.

"Honor to meet you." Peter said

"Thank you for coming. I believe you donated a piece of art for the auction tonight Mrs. Burk. Thank you for supporting the cause." Mike said shaking their hands.

"Trying to get kids off the street and into good homes is something I can get behind." Elle said.

"And this is Agent Diana Baring and her girlfriend Dr. Christie Smith." Rick said keeping things moving.

"Nice to meet you." He said.

"And last but certainly not least. Neal Caffrey and Sara Elles. Neal works as a consultant for the FBI and Sara here works for Sterling Bosh." Rick said completing the introductions.

"Nice to meet you. I hope you all have a good time this evening and thank you for coming." Baylor said shaking hands before moving on to his other guests.

"That was crazy. I just shook the Mayor's hand." Neal said.

"Mike is a good guy. We met at the club about six years back. We share a barber, and one day we were both early for our appointments and talked as we waited for Tony to finish. As I say that out loud I can hear how one percent that sounds." Rick said laughing.

"At least you know it's super hoity-toity." Peter said laughing.

"Shut up." Rick said smirking. Which set them all off.

The night was going great. Rick even got a chance to dance with all the ladies before getting too winded to keep up.

"You have to pace yourself Rick." Jordan said as he leaned into his cane walking off the dance floor.

"I was just having some fun. I'm fine. I just need some fresh air. Don't let me slow you down. Elle and Sara are calling you over to the auction table. Go see what they want and put my name down on anything good. Make sure you bid high. I have a reputation at this event for taking home the best stuff. If there's a nice trip get it for mother. It covers her birthday present." Rick said smiling as he turned towards the open French doors that lead to the back garden.

When he passed the kitchen to the left of the back doors he thought he saw two of the waiters arguing. He was about to see what was going on when he saw two more waiters acting suspicious. Thinking he was being paranoid he put it out of his mind and went out side. The huge back yard was set up like French gardens with different levels and perfectly sculpted bushes and flower beds. He took a deep breath leaned against a short marble wall. A waitress walked over with a tray full of champagne glasses.

"Would you like a refill?" She asked with a flirty smile.

"No thank you, I'm taking pain meds and they don't mix well with alcohol." Rick said with his charming smile.

"Sorry to hear that." She said making her way back into the party.

Rick was about to follow her when he saw the two waiters come out the kitchen door and walk around the side of the house. Talking about something in rapid Spanish and acting suspicious. He got that gut feeling that something was not right and he was about to head after them when Neal and Sara come out to look for him.

"Jordan's looking for you." Neal said.

"Neal, if you were going to hit this party what would you take?" Rick asked looking confused.

"What's going on?" Neal asked.

"The wait staff have no idea what's going on with the food. They keep looking at each other, and checking the time. Which I thought was just so they could keep to a schedule of rotating floor waiters but now I'm starting to have my doubts. Now if you were working tonight what would you take?" Rick asked leaning on his cane more.

"Right." Neal said looking serious all of a sudden. "Security is too good inside the house for a hold up. The Mayor doesn't strike me as a secret art collector so that's out too. Really the only thing here that's worth stealing is the cars… Shit!" Neal said running to the side of the house and hugging the wall. He peaked around and nodded before running back. "They have a big car carrier parked behind those trees and they are loading the cars as they pull up. It looks like they have most of the cars on the truck. They also have a few cars off to the side. Your 458 is one of them." Neal said in a rush.

"Okay." Rick said calmly as he pulled his Sig 229 out of his back and his Beretta 85 out of his leg holster. "Sara, can you go get Jordan and Peter. Tell them what's going on. Tell them to alert the security guards, but keep calm. There are still a bunch of those fake waiters in there. The last thing we want is a shoot out in the house with all the guests in the crossfire. Neal, how many guys are working the cars?" Rick asked handing him the Beretta.

"Four." Neal said taking the gun.

"There are four inside. Tell Jordan they have three minutes to get those four guys covered." Rick said to Sara.

"Rick are you sure it's a good idea for you to do something?" Sara asked.

"I'll be fine. Push comes to shove, I'll hide behind some bushes until backup can get there. It's the same place Neal will be. I'll just follow his lead." Rick said smirking.

"Funny. Don't get killed you two." Sara said kissing Neal. She then turned back to the party.

"How do you want to play this?" Neal asked.

"Real nice and calm." Rick said picking up an empty rocks glass someone left on the garden wall and tucked his Sig in his jacket pocket. "In a minute we're going to walk around that corner like drunk party guests out for a stroll to cool off. As we get closer, if they turn on us we get behind cover and announce ourselves as Feds. If they pay no attention to us and we can get close to them then I'll drop a few of them with my cane and then we announce ourselves. With two of them down and guns pointed at them they should come quietly." Rick said.

"Right." Neal said palming the gun in his hand.

"Come on." Rick said leading Neal around the corner.

He saw four men in red velvet jackets running back and forth between the parking area and a side drive hidden by tall trees. Rick paced their walk to intersect two of the runners. As they approached, the two men turned to look at them. Rick smiled at the two, and raised his empty glass. They nodded back and turned away. That's when Rick struck. Hurling the glass he clocked one of the two in the head hard enough to drop him. His friend turned around in time to catch the but of Rick's cane to his face.

"FBI! Come out with your hands up!" Rick called out bringing his gun up aimed at the guy coming from the lot. Neal brought his gun up on the guy by the truck. Neal's guy put his hands up and stepped away from the truck, but Rick's guy took one look at the cane, smirked, and took off running into the mostly empty parking lot.

"Cover my guy! I got him!" Neal called out as he took off after the runner.

"Neal wait!" Rick called out but Neal was gone. Peter came running around the house from the back a few seconds later.

"Where did Neal go?" Peter asked

"Around the front…" Rick started to say but stopped when Neal's 240Z came screeching up.

"Get in! He took a BMW Z4!" Neal yelled.

"GO! I got this guy." Peter said.

Rick got in and Neal sped off down the drive and out to the main road.

"Take this next right up here, it leads to a big street and to the main road that lead to the highway. If he's running that's where he's going." Rick said as Neal followed he instructions.

"That's him up ahead." Neal said pointing to the white car down the road ahead of them.

"Pull up along side of him." Rick said pulling out his phone and called Jordan.

"Jordan we're on First Street in pursuit of a suspect in stolen BMW Z4." Rick said.

"Right. No heroics you two. We're sending two patrol cars out to you." She said.

"Stay on the line." Rick said rolling down his window as they pulled next to the Z4. "Pull over!" Rick called out pointing his gun at the guy.

"Fuck you." The guy said.

"Neal pull in front of this guy." Rick said taking the seat belt and wrapping it around his left arm. When Neal pulled ahead of the Z4 Rick slipped out the window and sat on the door.

"YOU HAVE ONE LAST CHANCE! PULL OVER NOW!" Rick called out.

When he didn't stop Rick took steady aim and put six rounds into the front grill. In seconds steam started pouring out of the car. The guy slowed down and as the car came to a stop the guy jumped out and tried to run into the woods on the side of the road. Rick shot the tree next to him and he stopped.

"I see I finally have your attention. You are under arrest for multiple counts of grand theft auto, evading arrest, and making us chase you." Rick said.

"I don't think that last one is a real thing Rick." Neal said pulling his gun and training it on the guy as well.

"It should be. I should be able to shoot this guy for making us leave the party and causing a big stink." Rick said as two cop cars pulled up lead by Jordan and Sara in a sliver Mercedes SLR.

"Nice car ladies." Rick said putting his gun away as the cops arrested the perp.

"You just had to shoot something didn't you?" Jordan asked walking up to Rick.

"The guy wouldn't pull over. It was either shoot the radiator or try to knock him off the road and I doubt Neal would hurt his new car like that. I doubt he even realized how close he was to smashing it." Rick said laughing.

"Oh God. My car." Neal said as it dawned on him that he took his new car on a high speed chase.

"That's why we drive cars we don't mind totaling at work." Rick said patting Neal on the back.

"I'm just glad you two are okay." Sara said shaking her head.

"Were fine. Rick did most of the heavy lifting." Neal said.

"It was a team effort." Rick said.

"Is this how it's always going to be with you two?" Jordan asked.

"She says that like it a bad thing. We stopped a car theft crew on our day off! This was great." Rick said smiling.

"Rick, shut up and take me back to the party. If you have strength enough to fight and shoot at bad guys you have strength enough to dance with me some more." Jordan said dragging Rick over the SLR. "Follow us back Neal."

"Where did you get the car?" Rick asked slipping into the passenger seat.

"It was the next car they were going to take. The keys were in it when we ran outside. So we took it." Jordan said smirking.

"I love being an agent." Rick said laughing.

"Well, love it just a little bit less. Let's try to spend the rest of the weekend not shooting at people." She said taking his hand.

"It's not my fault they were robbing the party. I didn't set it up." Rick said defensively.

"I know, but the next time something like this goes down talk to me first. You don't always have to be the hero Rick. You can let the local cops do their job. Tonight you were a guest at a party first and a Fed second. You could have pointed out your observation to a cop working the party, and let them take care of it." She said.

"I didn't even think about that." Rick said looking contemplative and remorseful.

"Hey, knock that look off. You can't question a good bust like this. If you do then you'll start questioning everything and it will get you killed. You did good tonight. You just didn't have to. If two guys walk into a corner store with guns then you take care of them. If you are surrounded by cops working security then let them do their job." She said smiling at him.

"I'll remember that. I'm just so used to being in bad situations with Beckett, and being unarmed that now I feel like I should be doing more. I have a gun and a badge now." Rick said.

"It's called Rooky Guilt. You think because you carry a title and gun you have to do everything you can to earn it and keep earning it. You don't have to earn it Rick. You already have. More then have if you ask me. Mr. Four times medal winner. At a certain point you can actually start pissing people off because they think you're a show off. I know you're not but not everyone does." She said softly.

"I didn't think about that either." He said shaking his head.

"You're not supposed to. We get fresh Jr. Agents once a year. By the end of the year two thirds of them are gone. Of the one third that has what it takes to be a full agent one or two of them are what we call Hovers. They come out of Quantico hard and fast and dieing to make their mark. They end up failing hard most of the time until they get this little talk. You're different. You have a great head on your shoulders, and years of experience. Instead of failing hard you are seceding and that can be just as bad if you don't slow down. Your first loss will feel ten times worse if you fall from a greater height." She said as they turned on to the Mayor's street. They could see eight cop cars up ahead.

"You don't have to fail to feel like you lost." Rick said to himself as he rubbed his eyes. During the day she thought the meds he was taking were causing his drowsiness but now she could see the wrung out look in his movements.

"Rick, how have you been sleeping?" She asked softly.

"Good when you're with me." He said smiling. It fell off his face a second later. "But when I was alone in the hospital I couldn't sleep."

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" She asked.

"I was going to talk to Ken about it on Monday." Rick replied looking out the window.

"Why Ken? Why not me?" She asked hurt.

"He's my boss. My mentor. I thought I was supposed to take all my questions and problems to him? Besides, it only happens when I'm alone so it's not your problem." He said looking sorry.

"Well, all of that is true but you can't hold back on me like that. We both work in the same office. I had a marriage were I couldn't talk to my husband about work. It was one of the reasons we pulled apart. I would come home after seeing a horrible triple murder and not be able to sleep and instead of talking about it all he got was 'It's work stuff.' we don't have to hold out like that." She said rubbing her thumb over his knuckles.

"I see her eyes. Taffy's. The hooker I got killed. That night when we slept at the office to keep working was the first time I saw her. I saw her on the ground and then she turned to look at me with those dead unblinking eyes and she was judging me. Blaming me for her death. Asking me why she had to die. Telling me that some one smarter would have found the guy before he killed her." Rick said as a tear rolled down his cheek.

"Oh Rick. That's the stuff you have to tell me about. Taffy's death is not on your head." She said trying to comfort him but he pulled away.

"NO, I said we needed a fresh crime scene! I called for it! I domed that girl's life and every others hooker in the city." Rick said looking green.

"NO YOU DIDN'T!" Jordan yelled shocking Rick to his core. "Her death and all the rest of those hookers died because no one else bothered to look deeper. No one made the connections. The truth is Taffy was doomed from the start. Her and Mary and the girl before her and the girl before her, all the way back to the second girl. After two cases, all the rest of the bodies fall on the heads of the local cops! What you have to do is focus on the ten hookers you saved by profiling the killer and stopping him. You had one file! One case! From that case you found more, and from that you found The 9mm John! You find a killer in a stack of files and everyone thought you were wasting time. I thought you were. So did Ken. No JR. Agent has found a killer like you did. Let alone their first week. So the next time Taffy is looking at you and judging you, I want you to look back at her and tell her you're sorry you got that case so late but her death is not on you." Jordan said as she parked in the lot off to the side.

"I, don't know what to say at the moment. But, thank you." He said looking shocked and deep in thought at the same time. It was a funny look but the last thing Jordan wanted to do was laugh at him.

"You're welcome. Now let's go, we have a crowd of reporters and rich people waiting to hear what went on tonight and you have to make your third speech today." She said smiling softly.

"Me? Why Me?" Rick asked snapping out of his deep thoughts.

"You cracked the case. You're solve, your Press conference." Jordan said laughing as she got out of the car. "You coming or what? Super Agent." She toss back at him with a sexy smirk.

"You're having entirely too much fun with this." He said as he limped after her. Now that the car chase was over and his adrenalin was wearing off he was starting to feel the pain in his chest.

He walked over to the assembled crowd of reporters and party guests and smiled as he got closer to the steps. They were arranged at the base of the front stairs and the Mayor's podium was at the top. Mayor Baylor was making a speech and when he saw him he waved him over. The crowd parted and Rick made it to the top and stood next to the Mayor.

"Rick can you tell them what happened?" The Mayor asked looking a bit frazzled.

"Sure Mike, I got this." Rick said patting him on the back before turning to the crowd. "A little over an hour ago, I walked out the back door of the house to get some fresh air. As you know I was shot recently so I'm not drinking and let's face it a party full of rich people is about as exciting as you can imagine, now add to that joy the fact that you can't drink." Rick said landing the joke and getting the crowd to relax. After that he gave a brief accounting of the events as they happened. By the end he made the security staff look good and made the car theft crew look like criminal master minds. Everyone looked good and no one person could be blamed for not suspecting the crew.

After the press conference was over he asked for the owners of the White BMW Z4. An older man and younger woman stepped up. Rick used a lot of his mental skills not to roll his eyes at the two. The words Textbook mid life crisis and Daddy issues popped up in his head. "All of the cars are being returned as we speak, but unfortunately your car was the one taken as the getaway car and it was damaged. This means it's evidence in the case. You have two options in this situation. You can either wait a few months for the damaged car to be returned to you, or I can write you a check for the value of the car and you never have to think about it again." Rick said as Jordan walked over.

"I guess I'll take the check." The man said looking shocked.

One check later and Rick had a handwritten note stating he now owned a 2011 BMW Z4.

"Rick, why did you buy the car?" Jordan asked.

"Alexis I going to start driving soon, and I thought it would be a good idea for her to have a nice little car to learn with. Beside, a two seater sports car means she can't have passengers. Just Kelly. No boys. No distracting group of girls. You get the picture." Rick said smirking.

"Good idea." Jordan said looking thoughtful.

"I get them once in awhile." Rick shot back with a smirk.

"Well come on Mr. Good Idea. Let's get you home. You look dead on your feet." She said leading him over to the group.


	2. Chapter 2

Moving Day, and Punked

Rick looked up from his case file and smiled at his daughter. She took it upon herself to organize the Shaw's move to Casa Castle. She hired the movers after an extensive cross check and interview process. She and Kelly then supervised the pack up of Jordan and Kelly's apartment by using a color coded system. And she was supervising the unloading of the truck.

"No, that box goes in the guest room!" Alexis said chasing one of the movers down the hall upstairs.

"Your daughter is scary. You know that right?" Jordan said smiling from her spot on the couch next to him.

It was a lazy Monday for the two Feds. Something of a rarity of late thanks to a string of cases that had them both running all over looking for killers. They had the day off because they had just finished consulting on a multiple rape case with more than thirty victims in Boston. Instead of one guy it turned out to be a ring of four middle aged men with families of their own using the same MO to throw off the heat. Like a dad garage band the men would meet up in one of the dirt bag's 'man cave', drink beers, and plan the rapes. They even taped them and watched them as a group. When they made the arrest they found the group watching a home move. Rick had been tempted to leave bodies and not arrest the men, but they were unarmed. They had arrived home to find Martha and the girls waiting for them. It was the best gift they could have gotten after the things they saw in Boston. Because the case took their weekend they had today off and a half day tomorrow.

"I know she's scary. She has the makings of a truly horrible dictator in her. Seeing her standing there with that clip board shouting orders at the troops is giving me all kinds of flashback style nightmares. Your classic Type A overachiever with mild OCD." Rick said smiling softly.

"Well as long as you know." Jordan said laughing.

"Know? I'm just waiting to hide the bodies. Yes, I'm going to be one of those parents. The body hiding/cover up style ones." Rick said trying to hold it together.

"Good, those are the best kind. Anything less and I'd be sad. If you don't love your kid enough to hide the bodies then you really don't love them at all." Jordan said trying to breath through the laughter.

"Sure we laugh about it now but in a week when we run into a mom that keeps telling us Jimmy would never kill hookers you won't be laughing." He said laughing along with her.

"What are you two lazy bums doing?" Kelly asked pointing at the two with her own pink clipboard.

"Oh no, your kid has recruited mine as a submissive partner in crime. Note the way she dresses and the way she talks." Jordan said pointing out the fact that Kelly was wearing the same t-shirt and jeans combo as Alexis.

"You two have totally lost it now haven't you?" Kelly asked dropping into the middle seat between the two and smiling when Rick and Jordan both put their arms around her back.

"Don't blame us. Blame work. We just came off a really intense four day case in Boston, and before that I was consulting on a case for the NYPD and looking over old cold case files with Ken." Rick said closing his file so Kelly couldn't see the gruesome images inside.

"And on top of working lead on the Boston case we are coming to the end of my three month profiling class and things are getting a lot harder. Do you have any idea how tough it is to sit back and watch Jr. Agents bumble their way through a fake crime scene?" Jordan said.

"Speaking of, how did the group do?" Rick asked.

"Olivia and Dash were good but Will and Mike were unbelievable. They took apart the scene in minutes and had a full profile ready in under two hours. The rest of the class just barely passed or outright failed." Jordan said as she combed her finger through Kelly's copper hair.

"That's because they walked two real crime scenes with Esposito and Ryan. My boys are becoming the perfect support staff." Rick said proudly.

"Yes your minions are tuning out nicely." Jordan said rolling her eyes.

"Look at you three! Lazy! All of you!" Alexis said catching them all lounging on the couch.

"Sorry Ally, I sat down and mom started playing with my hair and I started to pass out." Kelly said.

"Well move over, I want some of that too." Alexis said tossing her clip board at Rick. "You get to take over. Boxes are marked and correspond to the chart." She said slipping her skinny body between Kelly and her dad effectively wedging Rick off the couch.

"Sure, take my spot and give me all the work." Rick said pouting.

"Oh poor Rick. Now go do your work, I want to talk to my girls." Jordan said shoeing him off.

"Fine! But I want reward ice cream for this." Rick said resolutely.

"Agreed." Jordan said laughing along with the girls.

Two hours later found them all at an old fashioned ice cream shop sharing a bowl of ice cream big enough the kill a diabetic.

"This is so good!" Kelly said in a state of euphoria. Her face, along with the rest of her family was covered in fudge sauce.

"We've been coming here for a long time. Every time we earn reward ice cream." Rick said stalling a caramel candy off the mound before his daughter could get it causing the girl to mean mug him.

"Caramel thief." She said smirking.

"If you're too slow, you're too slow. It's not my fault." Rick said sticking his tongue out at her.

"Very mature Rick." Jordan said laughing at the two. She loved watching them goof off together.

"I'll show you mature." Rick said pulling her into a fudge covered kiss.

"Cut out you two, we're in public." Alexis said.

"So?" Jordan said.

"Yeah, So?" Rick said kissing her again.

"So it's not polite." Alexis said smiling at the two.

"Is this polite?" Rick asked opening his mouth and making rude noises.

"Gorse!" She said looking away.

"I thought it was funny." Kelly said laughing.

"Right?" Rick said fist bumping Kelly.

"You are all crazy." Jordan said.

When they all settled down from their laughter Rick looked at the three women.

"Now that you two have officially moved in I think we should go over some house rules." Rick said in a serious tone. "Kelly. Jordan told me you have a tendency to be messy. Well, I want you to be as messy as you want. We have a team of maids that come in every day to clean Monday through Friday. And bed time is up to you if Jordan will allow it. I believe in letting kids set their own time limits. If you want to stay up watching a movie on a school night, that's fine with me. Like Alexis you're a good kid. I know you'll make it to school on time because this one is always on time." Rick said pointing to Alexis.

"That sounds fine with me." Jordan said smiling.

"Good, one last rule. You must learn the art of Laser tag and lightsaber dueling. No kid living in that house should go untrained for too long. That's why I'm presenting you with this." He said pulling a red wood box from the shopping bag at his feet. Inside were two shiny lightsaber hilts. "The plastic blades are at home. You're training begins tonight after dinner." Rick said with a huge smile.

"This is so cool!" Kelly said seeing her name engraved on the side of the hilt.

"I can show you all kinds of cool moves, and it's a good way to learn fencing." Alexis said.

"Now let's see if we can finish this before we get sick." Rick said attacking the ice cream like the ten year old he acted like most of the time.

That night while they were cooking dinner Rick got a call from Esposito. "Hey Espo!" Rick said.

"Hey Mr. FBI. I saw you on the news yesterday standing with Shaw. You never expect a group of suburban dads." Espo said shaking his head.

"You never do. What's up with you?" Rick asked changing the subject. Dead bodies he could handle, but seeing those women being hurt really broke something inside of him. He noticed he hugged the girls more since he got back. Some things you just can't un-see.

"We caught a crazy case and we were wondering if you would like to work it with us. So far we have some leads, but really me and Ryan just want to get your reaction to the evidence." Esposito said smirking.

"What, is it really bad?" Rick asked.

"No, in fact it's not too bad at all. Like I said. We just wants to get your reaction to the evidence." He said laughing.

"Come on, what is it?" Rick asked.

"You come in tomorrow and you'll see for yourself." Esposito shot back still smiling hard enough to be heard over the phone.

"Jordan, can I take my guys and work on a crazy case at the 12th?" Rick asked.

"Sure we have a really light day tomorrow." She said.

"I'll be there with my guys." Rick said.

"Good. I can't wait to see your reaction." Espo said before hanging up.

"That was odd." Rick said going back to chopping vegetables.

"What?" Jordan asked.

"They don't really want my help, they want to get my reaction to the evidence." Rick said frowning.

"That is odd. I wonder what they have?" Jordan said going back to the pot on the stove.

"I don't know. We'll see tomorrow." Rick said.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"TIME TRAVEL!" He shouted excitedly causing Ryan to fall over laughing and Beckett to shake her head.

"I knew he would say it." Ryan said between laughs.

"Come on Castel, time travel doesn't exist." Beckett said rolling her eyes.

"No you come on, old clothes, and an old bullet, it all fits!" Rick said excitedly.

"I'm with the boss on this one. That's some Terminator type stuff." Will said.

"Besides we have a good suspect. Panofsky lost four million dollars, and he has a whole collection of antique firearms. We'll have ballistics match in a few hours." Beckett said ignoring both of them.

"I'm not sure about all this, but if the guy drives a Delorean I'm in." Mike said laughing.

Esposito came off the elevator with a neck brace. He was waving a piece of paper and he had a huge grin on his face. "Traffic just got a hit on Our vic's car! Castle you're going to love this!" He said handing the paper to him and bypassing his boss.

"He Drives a Delorean!" Castle shouted causing Mike fall over.

"It's still there. You want to go check it out. " Esposito said excitedly.

A half hour later Mike and Ryan walked around the corner and spotted a Delorean. "Well that settles it for me. We are definitely dealing with a time traveler." Mike said taking pictures of the rare car.

"Castle's going to love this." Ryan calling the rest of the teams that were looking down the other side streets.

"I Called It!" Rick said rushing up to the car with Beckett lagging behind looking shocked.

"This does not make it time travel." She said still looking a bit taken aback.

"Buzz kill." Rick said smiling. It was fun to banter with her again. It was fun to work with the team again. He looked at his two guys and they both had huge grins on their faces making the whole thing even better.

"Well we have CSU checking the park we should head over there and see what they found." She said trying to find something to take their mind off the time travel angle. "Ryan can you check out the vic's car and see if we can get anything from it.

"I'll stay with him boss I want to get a few more shots of the car. For forensic purposes." Mike added just a bit too quickly.

"It's cool just don't sit in the car until Ryan tells you it's okay." Rick said laughing as the rest of the team walked away.

When they showed up at the park CSU was pulling a second lead ball out of the ground. It took Castle all of three seconds to figure out what went on that night.

"Will stand where the first victim was shot." He said standing by the second ball. He raised his arm and pointed at Will. "This park is a few blocks away from St. James church. You said your victim's time of death was around midnight right? I bet you can hear the church bells from this park. This wasn't a murder. This was a good old fashioned duel!" Rick said.

"You think Panofsky got mad at the vic for losing his money and challenged him to a duel?" Beckett asked.

"Him or someone else." Rick said. "Your vic got on someone's bad side and it landed him in a duel. A duel that he lost." Rick said walking off the distance between him and Will. "Forty paces. Two men stand back to back. They each walk twenty paces. Turn and fire." He said as his phone rang.

"Hey Boss we found a bunch of receipts in the car. It looks like work reimbursement. One of them is a hit we'll meet you at the park." Mike said.

"That was Mike. He said they got a hit off a receipt in the car. He coming to tell us about it." Castle said to the group.

"Castle. You read our vic's file, what could he be mixed up with to get him to enter a duel?" Beckett asked thinking about the new information.

"Money, honor, a woman. You said your vic had almost no social skills. What if he tried to talk to the wrong man's girl? We've seen a lot worse for a lot less." Castle said as Mike and Ryan came up to them with a receipt in an evidence bag.

"This receipt says coffee with Troy Kenworth. Now that name popped for me because his dad had one of the worst sob stories from the investment fund that went bust. His dad lots two million bucks, then he lost his house, and his marriage, and then two months ago he killed himself. Now Troy was looking like a good suspect until we found Panofsky. He has a bunch of arrest on his record from the last two months for bar fights." Ryan said.

"Well there you go! Revenge is the oldest motive in the book. Maybe Troy thought your vic besmirched his father's honor and challenged him to a duel." Rick said.

"And Donny, being the shy and introverted kid that he was accepted because he felt guilty." Beckett said.

"They meet at the park. Donny wearing the proper clothes for the event. They stand back to back. Twenty paces. Turn and fire." Rick said with a smirk.

"They both pull the trigger. The guns are loud and there's smoke everywhere. When the smoke clears Donny's dead and Troy panics and strips him of his clothes and wallet hoping to buy some time before we figure it out. No clothes, no duel, no connection." She said.

"Maybe, that last bit is a stretch, but everything else?" Rick said.

"Now I see why the boss talks like that." Will said.

"Yeah, it's weird to see both sides of the conversation we usually just get his side." Mike said.

"Ryan you're with me, let's go pick up Mr. Kenworth. Castle we'll meet you back at the precinct." Kate said walking off with Ryan.

A half hour later and Rick was watching Beckett work the suspect over in the room. She was using a soft voice and an understanding tone. But it wasn't working. The kid had good answers for every question she asked. Donny tried to get his father to diversify. His parents were on the rocks before anything with the fund going bust happened. To top it all off he had a good relationship with the vic. The meeting was to see if any cash was left in the fund at all. When Donny told him there was nothing left he took pity on the kid and got him a job and that's where the interview got interesting.

"Look I was at work the night Donny was shot." Troy said.

"At Berman and Rose?" Beckett asked.

"No." He said looking uncomfortable.

"Then where?" She asked dropping the mothering tone.

"Look I can't tell you or I'll get fired! I signed a confidentiality agreement." He said.

"You want to go to jail for murder?" She asked trying to get him to talk.

"Look that job is keeping a roof over me and my mother's head." He said.

"Is the job on 82nd between Lex and 3rd?" She asked.

"Yeah. How did you know that?" He asked looking shocked.

"Is it some kind of private club?" She asked.

"Yeah." He said.

"Sit tight Troy, we have to check your story." She said walking out of the room.

"Good work in there." Rick said meeting her by the door.

"Well now we know where Donnie was the night he got shot. Let's go check it out. Ryan stay here and check the ballistics report on Panofsky's guns. You two can act as our back up." She said to Will and Mike.

"Here, take my car and follow us." Rick said tossing Will the keys and he walked with Beckett. They walked out to her old Crown vic and Castle smiled when he sat in her uncomfortable passenger seat. "That something I don't miss." he said making a face.

"What's that?" She asked pulling out into traffic.

"That spring poking me in the ass." He said wiggling his butt around in the seat to get comfortable.

"I've missed this." She said softly as they drove.

"What" He asked looking at her.

"The banter, the theory, the… fun." She said glancing at him.

"This has been fun, but what did you expect with a case like this? 200 hundred year old bullet in a naked guy? Old clothes? A time machine custom Delorean? Honor duels in the park at midnight? Come on. This had our name written all over it. We had to work this one together. It's a classic Beckett and Castle case. It has everything." he said talking excitedly.

"True, I can't imagine working this case with anyone else. There's the club." She said pulling into the spot by the side. Will found a spot up the block.

"Hey Kate, we needed this one." He said smiling at her.

"We did." She said. "But it's going to make next week's case even harder." She said.

"Call me, I'm always ready to help. And my team is no joke. They're getting good fast. We're always ready to play. Even if we have a case. You know there's always a lull in the case and time to talk." He said getting out of her car. "Now let's see what we're dealing with." He said as they walked up to the green door.

Beckett knocked and a man in a funny looking hat and goggles answered the door he asked a few rapid fire questions about Jules Verne, but Beckett flashed her badge and got them in. The place was full of oddities.

"Where are we?" Beckett muttered.

"Victorian London." The door man answered.

"When are we is a better question." Rick asked.

"1892." He replied with a smile.

"What is this place?" Beckett asked looking around.

"Gaslamp! A private steampunk society!" The door man said with a big grin.

"Because that explains everything." Will said.

"It does." Mike said taking the lead into the room. "It's a society that loves the old timey culture of the past and the futuristic tech of the industrial revolution. This is with the world would look like if the culture never changed." Mike said.

A conversation with the owner and president of the club netted them a set of antique dueling pistols. As they were looking them over Beckett spotted the guy that worked with Donnie at his office. He took one look at her and booked it. Unlucky for him Will was on that side of the room with Mike. He saw the guy run. He heard Beckett yell. And he clothes lined the guy.

They barely got him in the box before he starts confessing to the whole thing. He says it was all a joke. A stunt to impress his secretary. He said Donnie did the math and told him it was impossible to hit each other at forty feet. There was crying and the girl was no help at all. She was sobbing before she even got into the room. Beckett walked out of the interview room shaking her head.

"How do you point a gun at someone and pull the trigger and not expect to kill the other person?" She asked looking pissed off.

"Well they were blinded by the romance of it all and Donny did the math." Castle said with a shrug.

"Well between this and the lower Tide fund Maybe he's not such a genius after all." She said.

"Or maybe he's just unlucky?" Castle said.

"Well then I've got a problem because I have to make a recommendation to the DA between murder and Manslaughter. The difference between those two is life in prison or just a few years. I mean, are antique guns really that inaccurate?" She asked falling into the desk chair.

"Well there's really only one way to find out." Rick said with a big grin on his face.

One call to the antique gunsmith later and they were standing in the firing range in the basement of the 12th with two loaded guns.

"This is so cool!" Rick said as they lined up in stalls next to each other and held the guns like duelers. They fired and hit nothing. Thirty shots and countless shooting aids like rests, sand bags, and even laser sights and they hit nothing. "Manslaughter it is." He said with a big grin.

"Manslaughter." She said nodding.

"Beckett, I would like to thank you again for this most enjoyable day of investigation. We found your killer, we figured out he didn't mean to kill his friend, and we had fun shooting antique guns. But it five o'clock and that's quitting time. I know you have a lot of paperwork to do but why don't you drop by the house later for dinner. Bring Tom with you." He said slinging his arm around her shoulder as they walked up the stairs to the main lobby.

"Sure Castle." She said with a smile as she walked the Feds out the front door.

"Good, we have to do this more often." He said hugging her one more time before they got into his car and drove away.

When they got to the FBI building Jordan came down and they went straight home. Rick told her all about his day and she enjoyed the look of happiness in his eyes as he talked about working the case. They cooked a nice dinner and the girls came in from fencing class. They were about to sit down to eat when there was a knock at the door. Rick got up.

"That must be Kate and Tom." He said getting the door but it was only Kate. "Hey Beckett, Tom couldn't make it?" He asked but she just walked into the house. "Kate?"

"Adam Murphy didn't kill Donnie Goldstein." She said.

"But he confessed." he said looking confused.

"And I believe he believes he killed his friend. But he didn't." She said.

"Okay, I'll bite." He said.

"look it bothered me that we couldn't hit the target at all. So I had ballistics run the two bullets and they weren't a match. The bullet that killed Donny didn't come from Adams gun." She said turning around to see the whole family sitting at the table. "Hi, sorry to barge in at dinner." She said blushing.

"You were invited remember. Now take a seat and explain yourself." Rick said taking her coat and ushering her into a seat next to his mother.

"Hello Kate." Martha said with a fake smile.

"Be nice mother, we've sorted this all out. You can go back to being friends. Now have some chicken and tell your tale. This sounds like a crazy grassy knoll Conspiracy theory." Rick said as he passed the platter of chicken around the table.

"Right, thanks for dinner." She said looking at Jordan and the message was clear. Sorry for barging in and taking up his family time.

"You were invited. Now what happened, Rick filled me in on the case as we made dinner. This sounds like a crazy one." Jordan said smiling a warm smile at Kate telling her it was alright.

"Well There was a third shooter at the park that night and he's our killer. The bullet that killed Donny matched the set we found but there was no black powder residue on the ball. It was fired from a different kind of gun. We need to go back to the park in the morning and figure this all out." She said taking a bite of chicken. "This is really good." She said.

"It's called home cooking. You should try it more often." Rick said.

"That's funny Castle." She said rolling her eyes.

"I thought so." Rick said smiling.

"So can you and your guys come out to the park tomorrow? Esposito is hurt and we could use the help. Plus you worked the case this far." She said.

"Sure if we're not doing anything we'll meet you out there." Rick said.

"It looks like a light day unless we get the call." Jordan said.

"Good, I could use your eye for detail." She said relaxing back into her chair.

There was a knock at the door and Rick got up. "That must be Tom" He said.

"No it's not. He's working a steak out tonight." Kate said.

Rick opened the door and saw Neal and Sara. "Hey guys. What's going on? Would you like some dinner?" He asked waving them in.

"I can eat." Neal said sniffing the air.

"We just had dinner with Mozzie." Sara said following them to the table.

"At a vegan place. Please Sara, we both know that wasn't food." Neal said dropping into the seat next to Alexis. "Hey Lex." he said making a plate.

"But we're invading their dinner." She said sitting next to him.

"No you're not, I made extra but Kate's boyfriend couldn't make it. Would you like a plate Sara? I opened a nice bottle of merlot." He said grabbing a plate, glass and silverware.

"Yes please. He's right the mush on a plate we had for dinner was terrible, and this looks really good." She said.

"Guys This is Kate Beckett my old partner from my cop days. Kate this is Neal Caffrey and Sara Ellis. Neal works in white collar and Sara works for Sterling Bosh." Rick said.

"Nice to meet you." Neal said between bites.

"You two had dinner with Mozzie? How is the little guy?" Rick asked.

"He's done with his first draft of the book. Here it's on this flash drive. He wants you to look it over and tell him what you think. He said it's a little on the light side, but this is more of an outline then a draft. He want's your opinion before he goes back and fills in all the dialog." Neal said handing the flash drive down the line to him.

"I'll look it over tomorrow after lunch. I'm working at the 12th, I'll bring a box full of bacon cheese burgers." Rick said.

"Sounds good to me. We're not working a case at the moment so we're just hanging around to office." Neal said.

A canvas of the park outside the dueling line turned up a red clothing fiber, and Rick knew who the shooter was. A call to Judge Markway and they had a search warrant for Troy Kenworth's apartment. A quick search of his room and they found a modified shotgun. They showed up at the Gaslamp and he confessed as soon as they told him they had the gun. They drove him back to the precinct and booked him on charges.

Kate sat at her desk and Rick sat in her desk chair next to her desk. "I see you're still using my chair." He said with a smile.

"It helps me think." She said smiling softly as she looked at the worn leather arms.

"It's a good chair." He said smiling too.

"Well, I think it has more to do with the man that sat in it then the chair itself." She said looking at him.

"Getting sentimental on me?" He asked with a grin.

"Shut up Castle." She said rolling her eyes.

"There's the detective I know. Now I'm going to take my boys out for a burger at the pub. You want to join us?" He asked.

"I think I will. The paperwork can wait." She said standing up and grabbing her bag.

"Good. We should do this more often. Case or no case. We'll pick a day and stick to it if we can. Of course you're welcome to join my Saturday night poker game. This week Neal will be playing. It's fun when he plays, we don't let him sit at the table unless he blows an .08 on the breathalyzer." Rick said leading her and the rest of the guys to the elevator.

"Why, is he that good at poker?" She asked.

"He has an undercover assignment where he plays an underground poker game every other week. The take home is $900,000. He's won it four times in a row." Rick said smiling.

"Wow. I can see why you get him hammered." She said.

"You talking about Neal?" Will asked. "He still won. We have to try something else this week the booze didn't help that much." He said.

"Maybe we'll have Sara sit in his lap the whole game and distract him." Mike said.

"Now you're thinking kid. We'll also keep feeding him booze." Rick said making the group laugh.

Beckett walked with them and listened to them talk. She had a smile on her face the whole time. They had worked together on a few cases since the break up but this was the first time she felt like they were friends again. They sat at a big table in the back corner of the pub. They ate, talked, and laughed for an hour and a half. When they were done Rick had Will and Mike take the two boxes of burgers out to the car and Kate had Espo and Ryan go back to the office ahead of her. Rick turned back and saw her standing by the pub.

"Detective Beckett you look happy and content. It's a good look for you." He said smiling.

"I feel good. I don't think I've felt this good in a long time. Yesterday and today were great." She said smiling too.

"Well all you have to do is make one phone call, and we can work a case like that again, and you can call me about other things too. We're friends Kate. Friends call each other." He said.

"Friends, I like that." She said nodding to herself.

"Now are we good?" He asked.

"Yeah. I think we are." She said.

"Good, bring it in." He said holding out his arms. She stepped up to him and hugged him. She pulled back with a grin.

"Now I have paperwork to do." She said.

"See you latter Kate." He said.

"You too Ca… Rick." She said before shaking her head. "No, it just doesn't sound right to me. Let's stick with Castle." She said laughing as she walked back to the station.


	3. Chapter 3

The 44 magnum copycat.

Rick was bored. That was never a good thing, but it was even worse now that the other Jr. Agents were finished with their first round of classes. New classes started in a few weeks and Rick so far had tested out of the basic classes and was now looking to take the next level of tests to see what else he could test out of.

He was sitting at his desk next to Will. Ken never requested a desk for the front of his office after seeing how well Rick worked with the team. He let him stay out in the bullpen with the rest of the Jr. Agents. Rick looked up from the cold case file in his hand and saw it was still only ten. His day started an hour ago and he was already on his tenth cold case file and he was starting to Fray around the edges.

"What wrong with you now Castle?" Olivia asked smirking at him.

"What's wrong is, I'm bored! This was never supposed to happen! We have no new major crimes case. White collar is so dead that Peter took the day off to go antique shopping with his wife, and Beckett hasn't called in a week!" Rick said tossing the file on his desk.

"Relax Castle, it's a slow Monday. I'm sure we will have a new case by the end of the day." Mike said looking up from his desk next to Will. Rick smiled at the round faced young man with the thick glasses. In the month since he met Mike the kid had scored high on all of his tests, and solved enough cases with Rick and Will to get out of the pool. Now he was a Jr. Agent like the rest of them.

"How do you know we'll have a case soon?" Rick asked.

"Because you told me Mondays were good days to get new cases." Mike said.

"And just what did I say Jr. Agent Forester?" Rick asked smiling at Mike like a proud father.

"People are found after the weekend party rush. It's Trash day in half the city, and it's 97 degrees outside with a high of over a hundred. Someone is going to end up dead soon." Mike said.

"Very good Jr. Agent. You mentioned the heat. Tell me the top three favored methods of killing in a heat wave?" Rick asked recalling the facts from Jordan's book.

"Blunt force trauma, Stabbing, and GSW." Mike said buffing his nails on his shirt with a smirk.

"Very Good Jr. Agent." Jordan said approaching the bullpen. "What is the peak times for murder in a heat wave?" She asked.

"11AM-1PM and 4PM-6PM, Ma'am. The lunch rush with the hottest recorded temperature, and the after work rush." Mike said.

"Very Good. For your reward you don't have to leave this nice cold air-conditioning to go get coffee and donuts. That just leaves four of you. If one of you can name three famous summer heat wave spree killers you also get to stay." She said and Rick raised his hand. "Oh no you don't, not you Mr. I'm bored. If you're that bored then you get to go. Olivia looks like she has the right answer."

"Sam Burkwist. The L.A. slasher. And the Huston Hammer." She said with a little smirk.

"I see you put them in reverse order of Popularity of weapon but in order of fame. Olivia stays. The rest of you go. Here is a list of drink orders and donuts. Be gone minions!" She said waving them towards the elevator.

"I see you conveniently forgot to include money for all this." Rick said smiling.

"Take it out of your Jr. Agent pay." She said laughing.

"Yes Boss. Come on boys, let's go." He said leading them to the elevator.

The trip to the coffee shop was uneventful but coming back Rick spotted Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito walking into the building ahead of them. "Hey Coppers! You forget where your little station house is?" He asked smirking.

"Blow it out you're ass Castle. I'm here to see your boss." Kate said waving Ryan and Esposito over to help carry some of the trays.

"About what? Do you have a case for me?" Rick asked leading them to the elevator.

"We do, and this could be a bad one. I figured we should bring it to you guys ASAP. You are the Hooker whisperer after all Castle. Maybe you can help us with this one." Kate said at the got off on the tenth floor.

"Hey guys, What brings you down here?" Jordan asked when they came in.

"We may have a case for you guys and I wanted to bring it over personally. I know there was some bad blood between use for a bit but I hope this shows how much that's changed." Kate said as she walked into the conference room. She stopped when she saw only Jordan, Ryan, and Esposito walk into the room. She stuck her head out the conference room door and saw Castle standing with his team. "You coming or what?" she asked.

"I'm following the rules Detective. Jr. Agents are not allowed into the initial meeting. When Jordan says we have a case, then we get to start working it. That's the rules." Rick said shrugging.

"Oh," Kate said.

"We'll be waiting." Rick said grabbing a donut.

"So Kate, what do you have for us?" Jordan asked getting her attention. She was very proud of Rick. He followed the rules even though he knew the detective.

"Right," Kate said walking over to the table with her thick file. "We have five dead hookers and I think they are related. I also think they started dropping when you guys caught the 9mm John. The first murder happened the day after the press conference you guys held about that case three weeks ago. The next one dropped a week later. Than five days later. Then three days later. These two girls died a day apart. This guy works fast. He also works all over the city. That's why it took so long to put together. These last two girls were handed to my team. When Laine did a ballistics search for any case with a similar MO she found these three and then yesterday we found this girl." Kate said.

Jordan looked up from the file in her hand. "Shit Kate, this is bad. This level of escalation is staggering. Ryan call the others in." Jordan said standing up.

"I was right to bring this to you." Kate said nodding the herself.

"You were right. This has the potential to get way worse." Jordan said as Rick and the other Jr. Agents walked in. Ken followed behind Rick. "Ken, remember that guy Orenstein in D.C.? This looks like the same type." She said coming to stand next to Kate at the head of the table. "Kate if you will start over while I start putting this up?" Jordan asked grabbing the first file.

"Okay. We have five dead hookers killed by the same guy. I think he started killing because of the 9mm John. The first murder happened the day after the press conference you guys held about that case three weeks ago. The next one dropped a week later…"

"Slow down Detective." Rick said. "Give use the W's of the first girl." Rick said giving her a reassuring smile.

"Sorry. The first girl was 18 year old Carmen Morales. She was shot in the face once with a Large caliber gun, like a .45 or a .357 at close range. She was killed in an alley in Queens three weeks ago. Time of death was early morning between 4-6 AM. Seven days later a Jane Doe in Brooklyn with the same MO. Five days later a high end hooker named Desire was killed in the financial district. Then two days ago we found another Jane Doe in the park. Yesterday was a repeat." Kate said handing out files.

By this point Jordan had the time line on the board. "Okay, what are we looking at?" Jordan asked.

"You don't know?" Kate asked.

"I have a good idea but let's see what everyone else thinks." Jordan said watching the team spread out the files on the table.

Rick walked away from the group and looked at the time line before shaking his head sadly.

"Do you want to go first fearless leader?" Olivia asked Rick.

"No, go ahead." Rick said smiling sadly at her.

"Well, we're looking at a glory seeker. He watched the press coverage the 9mm John got and he wants some too. He uses a revolver, and he's either patrolling, or delivering. He's not going to stop until he gets his press clippings." Olivia said.

"Very good Olivia. Now profile him. Who are we looking for Rick?" Jordan asked.

"We're looking for a white male, in his 30's. he drives a cab, but not for a major company. He's a gypsy cab driver without a medallion. He works for cab companies that treat him like dirt but he can't move up because he drinks. He's got below average intelligence, but he thinks he's smarter than he is. He has an abusive relationship with either his mother or wife. He's owned the gun for a long time and he's been thinking about using it. He's looking to get his name in the papers. That's why he's moving around. He killed this first girl in Queens. When no one made a big deal out of it he moved up to Brooklyn. Then to the Financial District, but still no one cared about a dead hooker. When he shot the Hooker in the park he came back a few hours later and saw you guys working the scene. That's when he knew where he would get the most attention. He repeated his kill yesterday, but instead of going to the press last night you came to us this morning. He's either going to kill two women today, or not a hooker. Either way it's going to escalate." Rick said looking at the timeline.

"Rick, you were spot on." Jordan handed him the paper she was writing on and it had all the things he said.

"So how do we catch this guy?" Kate asked looking mildly shocked at the level of detail Rick added.

"We either force his hand or play to his ego." Rick said.

"What he means is we take this to the press and either tell them he's a weak, impotent, sad little man that can't get it up and needs to kill hookers to get his small equipment to work. Or we say this guy is the smartest criminal ever but for him to get the credit he needs to come in." Olivia said.

"Whatever we do, it's has the chance to either stop him from killing again and force him to come in, or send him on a killing spree." Rick said.

"I think we should force his hand. We have the detective call him weak and wait for him to come after her." Olivia said.

"I don't think that's going to work." Jordan said looking over the report again. "He's already weak, and pushed around. I think he'll lose control and go on a killing spree if we do that. Let's try talking him up and ask him to come in. We might get lucky." Jordan said.

"I like that plan better. I don't like to be a target." Kate said.

"No, you are still going to be a target. Both of you are. We need to slut you two up and put you two on camera. This guy likes to kill pretty women. Look at his victim's. Hot women, that show some cleavage and legs. If you want to get through to this guy you two are going to have to show some skin." Rick said.

"Why both of us? Can't the good detective do it?" Jordan asked.

"Because you two represent two of the three popular body types, shorter and curvy, and tall and thin. Really we should toss Olivia on stage with you two. She's the medium between you. Also now were looking at a redhead, a brunette and a blond. No matter what he's feeling like today you three cover all the bases." Rick said dragging Olivia out of her chair and putting her between Kate and Jordan.

"We also cover all the age ranges." Will said.

"Should we add Fey to the lineup? In case our suspect is craving something Asian?" Dash asked laughing.

"It's nice that you find this situation funny Daschle." Jordan said with an edge to her voice that was easy to hear.

"You know, even though I want to hurt most of the men in this room right now. They do have a point." Olivia said looking at the two older women.

"I'm willing to do this if you two are." Kate said.

"Sure why not? Let's set it up, Rick, call Jenna and have her bring her van, we're going to need a lot of choices and we have to do this fast. We need to be on the eleven o'clock news. That's in a half hour." Jordan said looking at her watch.

"On it boss." Rick said pulling out his phone.

"Jenna?" Kate asked.

"You'll hate this Kate, but you'll love the results." Jordan said with a smile.

Ten minutes later and Jenna stepped off the elevator pushing a rack of clothes. She set up in Jordan's office and as soon as she saw Kate she was on her.

"Yes you I have plenty of things for. You're what a 2 or a 1? I have skirts and tops, fashion week in Japan just ended and I got a shipment of a lot of good stuff." He said pawing at Kate as she dragged her into the office.

"What the hell was that?" Olivia asked looking shocked.

"That was Jenna, she's a bit hyper and overbearing but you get used to her." Jordan said laughing.

Three minutes later Kate was shoved out of the office in a pinstriped vest corset top, short jacket, and matching mini skirt, black stockings with lace tops and six inch black stripper heels. Her hair was down and wild around her face. She had on bright red lipstick and heavy black eyeliner highlighting her dark eyes. Every man in the room and half the women swallowed hard and blushed when they saw her. Jenna came out of the office and Olivia took one look at Mike looking at Kate and all but rushed into the office.

"Damn Beckett, I didn't know you could look like that." Esposito said looking at her chest. The corset top did something truly magical to her body.

"Eyes up Espo, and if I catch you staring I'll pluck out your eyes." she said with a sexy little smirk. She looked at her reflection in the conference room window and she had to admit that Jenna did know what she was doing.

"Yes boss." He said looking straight ahead.

"You look damn fine Kate, I think you should talk to Jenna after all this is over. She can do wonders for your look." Jordan said smiling at the detective.

"Yes, maybe a few of those suits you're wearing." Kate said cocking her hip and sharing a smile with Jordan.

The door to the office opened and Olivia came out looking like a wet dream. She had on a black vest, with a white dress shirt left all the way open to the middle of her black lace push up bra and a matching skirt so short it could have been a belt. add to that the fact that she was wearing black stockings held up by suspenders and six inch spiked stilettos. She too was sporting the cherry red lip-gloss but she had her long blond hair in a tight bun and she took out her contacts and put her black plastic framed glasses giving her a sexy school teacher look that had the guys wishing they were back in school because they were all hot for teacher.

Mike made a sound at the back of his throat and he got dizzy when he saw her. Will grabbed him to steady him on his feet and the shorter man thanked his partner with a nod. She walked right up to Mike and smiled an innocent smile as Jordan laughed and walked into the office.

"How do I look Mikey? Am I sexy?" She asked in a deep sexy voice. She accented her question by biting her lip and Mike did fall back into his seat as he choked on his own spit. "What's the matter Mikey? You hot for teacher?" She asked with a sexy smirk.

"Easy Moss, you'll kill the kid." Rick said shaking his head.

"Did I hurt you baby?" She asked taking a seat in his lap and bringing his face closer to her cleavage. "Can I kiss it and make it all better?" She whispered in his ear as she grinned her ass into his lap. She eeped when Mike grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her in for a deep long kiss that had her panting.

"You and that outfit are coming over to my place tonight." He said in a deep masculine voice full of raw sexual need that totally reversed the power struggle they were playing with.

"I am?" She asked in a breathy voice.

"Yes you are, you see I've been talking in class and not turning in my home work. I have a lot of extra credit I need to work off. You're going to have to ride me until you're satisfied with my work." He said with a look in his eyes that did something to her that she never thought would happen to her.

"Yes, I think your going to have to work very hard Mr. Forester." She said regaining some of her confidence.

The office door opened up one more time and Jordan came out looking almost the same as she did when she went in but the subtle changes made to her look turned her into sex on two well sculpted legs. She was wearing a black suit but the jacket and white button up shirt were about three sizes too small leaving the shirt un buttoned down the her red lace push up bra. Her skirt fell almost to her knees but it was split on both sides showing off her toned legs in black lace top stockings and her matching stripper heels. Hers were in a Maryjane style. Her lips were a darker shade of crimson, and she had a few other makeup touches but they were subtle. Her hair was in a messy bun but there was one piece of the whole ensemble that made Rick's pants just a little too tight. She had horned rim glasses on a beaded chain around her neck that fell down to her cleavage. Jenna walked out of the office and took in her creations with a smirk.

"Yes this will do nicely. I give you sexy secretary." She said adjusting Kate's corset to shove her breasts up higher. "Sexy school teacher." She said adding a yellow number 2 pencil to her vest pocket. "And my personal favorite, Sexy Librarian. So what do you think Rick, did I pull off your request?" Jenna asked looking excited.

"I think you did better than I expected. What ever this is costing me, take double and buy yourself something nice." Rick said without breaking eye contact with Jordan.

"Thanks Rick," she said going back to her rack.

Rick walked up to Jordan and in a very soft tone whispered to her. "Tonight is going to be a very good night in the Castle house. Mother was going out with Chet, and the girls were spending the night at Page's house. I have book shelves that need attending to." He said kissing her neck.

"Yes I think you do, but we have to be quiet." She said in a husky whisper.

"Yes ma'am." He said with a smile.

The rest of the day flew by. They did the press conference at eleven. By noon the killer, William Robert Carter, a white thirty five years old cab driver living with an abusive wife walked right into the front doors of the FBI building with the gun. A .44 magnum revolver. He confessed to all the murders they knew about. He also confessed to killing his wife before he turned himself in. the three women changed back into their normal clothes and they were on the one o'clock news to tell the public it was safe again. Also to explain why they were dressed like sluts on the eleven o'clock news. By five o'clock they had everything filed and the prosecutor already had charges lined up to file in the morning for the .44 Magnum John.

At quitting time everyone scattered out of the office. On the ride home both Jordan and Rick were quiet but they were both sporting grins. When he pulled into the parking garage Jordan stopped him from getting out.

"Take it around the block a few times and then come up." She said with a sexy smirk.

"Yes Ma'am." He said restarting the car.

Rick drove around the block three times and when he opened his front door Jordan was standing there waiting for him in her sexy librarian costume. She had a few book in her left hand and the brass ruler from his desk in her right hand. Her glasses were perched on the tip of her nose and she gave him a penetrating stare over the rim of her spectacles.

"Library card?" she asked in a clipped tone.

"Library card?" He muttered before scrambling for his wallet.

"Did you come to the library for something in particular?" She asked as he fished out his old library card.

"I came in looking for a fantasy and I think I just found one." He said handing over the card.

"Well Mr. Castle. It seems that you have an overdue book in the system." She said giving him a cold eyed stare.

"I do?" He asked feeling nervous.

"Yes, it says you checked out the Joys of Sex and you never brought it back. Did you check out that book Mr. Castle?" She asked looking at him over her glasses again.

"Yes I think I did." He said pulling at his tie. This was getting a little too real. He was having all kinds of flashbacks.

"Well did you read it?" She asked.

"Yes Ma'am." He said meekly.

"Good, I hope you studied it cover to cover because I plan on testing your knowledge tonight, and I'm a very harsh critic. You're going to have to work very hard to prove you took out that book Mr. Castle." She said running the brass ruler over her collar bone, down her chest and between her cleavage.

"Yes Ma'am." He said with a smile as she pulled the pencil out of her bun and let her red hair cascade down her back.

Rick woke up the next morning to the sound of the alarm clock ringing. He rolled over to shut it off and his abs cramped up. He looked down on his chest and saw "I'm a good little reader" written in red marker across his chest. That made him remember last night. He smiled a goofy smile and that's the face Jordan saw when she rolled over in bed.

"Hello Madam Shaw." He said.

"Mr. Castle. I see you passed out last night after your sixth review of the materials. You're going to have to do better then that next time." She said in a husky voice. She reached under the covers to touch him but he flinched.

"Sorry love, but I'm a little sore." He said with a smile.

"You think you're sore? But I could still go another few rounds. I don't think I've ever had anything that good ever." She said rolling over and laying on his chest.

"Yes well, Madam Shaw is a task mistress." He said smiling at her.

"She is, but she was pleased with you last night. I don't know if I'll be able to walk into work or anywhere today, but I loved every second of last night." She said tracing the words on his chest.

"Then let's play hooky and take a long hot soak in the tub. I'll cook us a good brunch and then we can lay in bed and watch movies." He said tracing circles on her back with his fingers.

"That sounds good. Let me call Ken. You go fill up the tub." She said grabbing her phone off the table.

"Yes Ma'am." He said with a smile.

"I like the sound of that." She said watching his ass as he walked into the bathroom. She called Ken's office and he answered with a smirk on his face.

"Hello Jordan. What can I do for you?" He asked.

"Can it you old coot, you know why I'm calling. We got a case of the honeymoon syndrome. We're not going to make it in today." She said.

"I knew you would call. Olive made the same call a few minutes ago for her and Michael." He said laughing.

"I plan on hearing form Will anytime now. I saw him and Melissa leaving together yesterday. They barely made it into the car. If something bad happens I have Fey and Dash. If they call in Avery can handle it. If it's something bad then I'll call you. Don't worry about it. Take the day off. The office will still be here when you get back on Wednesday." He said.

"Good, see you then." She said hanging up and walking into the bathroom. Rick was in the big Jacuzzi tub full of hot water and lavender bubbles. She slipped into the tub and sat in front of him. He held her to his chest

"This was a good idea." She said with a sigh as he rubbed her back.

"Yes, I have those from time to time." He said kissing her neck softly.

"This is almost perfect all we need is…" She stopped talking when Rick opened a small door in the wall behind it were two stainless steel champagne flutes and a bottle of the expensive champagne he liked in a mini fridge. He popped the cork and filled the two cold glasses. "How long has that been in there?" She asked but he knew what she was really asking.

"A long time. I've been waiting for a situation like this for six years. I've never had someone to share that bottle with." He said wrapping his arms around her. "I'm lucky you came into my life when you did. This bottle is almost over due." He said laying his chin on her shoulder.

"Well I'm glad I showed up when I did." She said intertwining their fingers as they sipped their drinks in a comfortable silence.

They sat like that until they were both pruney. They took a quick shower after that and dressed in gym shorts and a t-shirt for Rick, and boy shorts and one of Rick's button down shirts for her. Rick made a platter of eggs, bacon, and bagels while Jordan changed the sheets. They ate in bed and watched old movies on cable. That's how the girls found them when they came home from school. They both climbed into the big bed a and laid with them as they watched the end of Roman Holiday.

"I'm hungry." Kelly said looking up at Rick.

"Well, it's taco Tuesday. I'll go start cooking. You guys can help out when you get the chance." He said hugging all three of them as he got up off the bed. When he left the room the girls turned on Jordan.

"Spill! You both look really happy. Did you guys have a good night?" Alexis asked with a big grin.

"We did. And when you're both in college I'll tell you about it for now lets just say we're both very happy." She said holding the two girls close.

"Good." Kelly said with a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

Caged Animal

Rick sat at his desk looking over old case files. He had six boxes of them stacked next to his desk. They were a gift from Beckett. They were filled with copies of all the case files he worked on with her team. He was trying to find a good one to give to the Jr. Agents. By now it was a Friday tradition. If they didn't have a case, or class work Rick would give them a case to solve. The reward was different each time. This first time it had been a crisp Ben Franklin. The second time they played his little game the prize was walking a real crime scene with Beckett and her team. That last time they played it, Rick took them to brunch at Carrie's place.

This time he was thinking about upping the stakes to something nice. Maybe a favor to be cashed in at a later date. But if he was going to give them something that good they were going to have to earn it. That meant finding a really good case. He had it narrowed down to the vampire case they got on Halloween a few years back, or the mob hit woman they caught his first year on the job.

"Heads up! The Boss is coming this way." Will said sitting up in his seat.

"Everyone in the conference room now we have a case." She said leading the group into the room.

"What are we looking at boss?" Rick asked taking a seat at the head of the table as the rest of the team filed in around the table.

"Three murders in a high security gated community in Orange County California." Jordan said tossing a big stack of files on the table.

"Three women, all in their early thirties. Two brunettes and a blond. All of them white but in a Gated community like this one we're talking about one, maybe two non white families out of sixty." Rick said speed reading the report in front of him.

"Victims were all strangled with a thin wire, most likely a grout. The first victim Nancy Reagan was home alone. The second victim, Jill Ford was in the house and her husband and kids were outside in the back yard camping. The third victim, Elizabeth Hartley, was killed in the house with her husband and kid asleep in the rooms down the hall. That's a crazy escalation from no risk to high risk targets." Olivia said shaking her head.

"Could it be an outsider?" Mike asked looking over the file with a calculating eye.

"No, that's the one thing the local cops know for sure. The community is surrounded by an eight foot anti-scaling fence and the only two entrances have around the clock guards. Also because this is a secure community the local security is the local cops. The comminute is it's own township so we're dealing with ex-cops and a semi-retired detective that runs the team over there." Jordan said smiling at the way these Jr. Agents were breaking down the file.

"This is going to be a real pain in the ass." Rick said tossing the file on the table.

"What do you mean Castle? I thought you could solve anything." Olivia said smirking.

"I didn't say I couldn't solve this I'm saying this is going to be a pain in the ass. What's our working profile for a strangler?" Rick asked.

"White male. 25 to 35. Soft job with little to no power over anything. Submissive to his wife or girlfriend. He has some kind of hobby that he uses to release his frustrations and physicality but it's not enough so he snaps when pressure is applied." She said.

"And you just described all of the men that live in the community. We have sixty suspects and all of them fit the profile of a strangler. And according to his pattern of kills he's going to strike in the next 48 hours. The flight to California and getting settled in with the local cops is going to knock eight hours off that time and that's hoping this guy can wait to kill. What if the Feds showing up spooks him into killing sooner, or worse, quitting all together and waiting until we leave to kill again. No matter how you look at this, someone could die before we catch this guy. I hate when that happens." Rick said shaking his head.

"You get used to it. Gather your things, we meet back here in a half hour to catch a chopper to the airfield." Jordan said shooing them out of the room.

"That won't be necessary Ma'am, we all have go bags." Will said.

"Good the faster we can get there the faster we can catch this guy." Jordan said nodding her head approvingly.

On the plane Rick sat next to Jordan, but they showed no outward affection to one another. It was an unwritten rule now. They sat next to each other. They exchanged small touches when one of them felt the need to, and on the road they shared a room. In exchange for not ratting them out to the higher ups the team had more leeway in protocol too. Instead of being totally subservient to Jordan they worked as a team with her as the leader and Rick as her second in command. They also dropped all titles when they were alone together. It was a novel idea in the FBI, but Peter Burk used it with his team and it worked for him. Then again he had full agents. She could have full agents too, but she preferred the team of Jr. Agents. They had the most flexibility when it came to working a case. They didn't have a chip on their shoulder and they followed orders.

Jordan looked over Rick's shoulder and saw he was making a list. "What's that?" She asked.

"A list of things we can use to eliminate some of the suspects. Things like we're looking for a man that's at least 5'11"." Rick said.

"Why 5'11"?" Jordan asked smiling. She knew the answer, but she liked to question him and he liked to answer. It was a learning tool for not only him but the whole team because they got to hear the answer too. It was a way to quiz the whole team and keep thing fun and loose.

"Olivia, how tall are you?" Rick asked looking to the tall blond.

"5'10"." She said not even questioning why he was asking. She just looked up from her book and answered.

"Good, stand up and kick off your heels. Dash how tall are you?" Rick asked.

"1 meter 70 centimeters." Dash said smirking.

"That's 5'7" for people that don't know the metric system." Rick said pulling off his tie.

"It's the world standard." Dash said.

"Well we're in 'Merica you limey bastard. Use feet like your 'opsoseta! Now take this tie and strangle Olivia." Rick said tossing him the silk tie.

"Cool." Dash said excitedly.

"Not cool, you leave a mark on me I'll kill you." Olivia said coldly. She saw what Rick had with Will and Mike and she wanted the same thing. Rick put her in a group with Dash and Fey, and soon the little Asian girl would be joining the team from the pool like Mike. She was grooming the two to follow orders.

"Just try to sneak up on her and get the tie over her head. And Olivia, stand relaxed. Don't think about him behind you. You're standing too ridged. Let your body relax. That's it." Rick said in a calming voice.

That's when Daschle struck. He took two short steps up to her back and tried to bring the tie over her neck but instead he hit the top of her head and almost tripped over her.

"It's a lot harder than you thought right Dash? Now switch places. After all, fair play is fun play." Rick said with a smile.

"So not cool." Dash said.

Before he could even get relaxed Olivia struck. She had the tie around his neck, his feet swept out from under him and he was slightly dizzy from the attack. If this was real he'd be dead in seconds.

"Very brutal and efficient. Very nicely done." Rick said clapping.

"Says you mate." Dash said from the floor looking sad that he was taken out that fast.

"Sorry Dash." Olivia said helping the shorter man up.

"Now you see what a height advantage does? All of our victims are about 5'8", as Olivia just showed us, in violent detail, you need a good two inches on your opponent to get them down. You also need a lot of physical strength. It's a lot harder to strangle someone then you would think." Rick said calmly causing the whole group to look at him strangely.

"How would you know it's hard to strangle someone?" Jordan asked.

"Let's just say that over the course of writing a book with a strangler as the bad guy I had to go to some interesting places to do some research. One of those places was a den of kink and bondage. I'm not saying I was choked by a mistress in black leather, but something like that might have happened." Rick said smirking as his ears got red.

"Is this why you got excited by the thought of me in a leather corset holding a whip?" Jordan asked smirking. She then remembered she was surrounded by Jr. Agents and turned red.

"Way to go Jordan! There's nothing like spanking a bad boy is there?" Olivia said with a wolfish grin at Mike.

The two of them had been sleeping together for a month now and Olivia found herself smiling more every time she was around the tubby boy with the thick glasses. He was everything she avoided in a sex partner, and she was starting to think that was the draw for her. She tended to pick up tall well built guys and use them for sex, but the more she got to know Mike the more she liked him. All the other girls were pushing her to really go out with him and all the guys were constantly giving him the thumbs up but so far, sex, was as far as it went. She was sure they would have a bad day out in the field some day soon, and she would find herself at his hotel room door looking for real emotional comfort. Mike knew it too, but so far neither of them made a move to be more then bed warmers, and they were happy with that.

"So you've crossed off any short weak men off the list. Was there anything else?" Jordan asked trying to get the conversation back on track.

"Yes, we're looking for men with wives that have better jobs than they do. All of the women that he killed so far have high powered jobs. Lawyer, doctor, corporate raider. Our guy is married to someone with the same type of job. He may even be a stay at home dad, but I doubt it. A stay at home dad would be too tired after a long day of dealing with the kids to plan, and execute three murders like this." Rick said.

"Very good Rick, you just described us. Your tall, physically fit, and I have a better job then you. Should I be worried?" Jordan asked.

"Very funny." Rick said faking a hurt look on his face.

"Besides, Rick doesn't strangle people, he shoots them." Olivia said.

"Hey you leave the boss alone. Those guys were asking for it. Trigger Rick never shot no on that didn't deserve it." Will said laughing.

"Sure, make fun of me. The next time your life is on the line I won't help you." Rick said folding his arms and pouting.

"Leave Rick alone, I'm sure he won't have to shoot anyone this time." Jordan said patting him on the arm.

"Way to jinx me Jordan! Now I'm definitely going to have to shoot someone." Rick said.

"No you won't, stranglers almost always come quietly. It's the spree and revenge killers you have to worry about. They love suicide by cop. If any of you end up having to kill one of them don't feel too guilty. It's what they want and they will leave you with no choice in the matter. I lost a Jr. agent to a guy like that. He chased this kid into an ally. The kid turned around, brought his gun up and waited for the agent to shoot him. After a few seconds he shot the agent and I ended up taking him down. Never hesitate. We can all poke fun at Rick because he never hesitates, but don't worry about blowback if you ever find yourself in that situation. Just let your training kick in and take them down. Three shots to the chest, center mass." Jordan said holding Rick's hand.

"Yes boss." Will said looking deep in thought. The rest of the group agreed with nodding heads. The rest of the flight was spent in quiet thought as the team of Jr. Agents thought long and hard about her words of wisdom.

After landing at a small airfield they got into two black SUVs and headed out to the Gated community. When they arrived there they were met with a lot of prying eyes and an older Hispanic gentleman in a dark suit and gold shield on his waist.

"Special Agent Shaw? I'm detective Mario Garcia." The man said looking relieved they were here.

"Detective Garcia this is my team, Agents Castle, Moss, Warner, Forester, and Abby Down, but call him Dash." Jordan said.

"Glad you could all come. You are set up in the model house as you requested." The detective said leading them into the first house in front of the gate. The house was set up to show off the properties in the community. It had a map of the area and white boards set up.

"I see you gave us a head start." Rick said looking over the boards. Not bad for a local he thought.

"I took a seminar on profiling a few years back at the LA FBI field office. I have files on every man in the community. Of the sixty men fifty fit the profile of a strangler. I also have taped interrogations of all the men on that list." Garcia said putting a big stack of files on the table.

"Rick I want you and Will to walk the last crime scene. Olivia take Dash and look at the second crime scene. Mike and I will start looking at these interrogations. Meet back here in an hour." Jordan said.

"But first." Rick said picking up a marker and putting 41 hours on the board. "41 hours people. That's how long our killer gave us last time." Rick said before leading Will out of the house.

"Rick really hates losing." Olivia said smiling softly.

"I think we all do." Mike said taking the first file off the table.

"Let's see these integrations." Jordan said.

"I think this is your best suspect. He lives close to all the victims and he likes to jog at night." Garcia said queuing up a clip of a short stocky white man.

In the clip Garcia questioned the guy hard and didn't let the man speak much.

"Did you go this hard in every interview?" Jordan asked shaking her head.

"Is that wrong?" Garcia asked.

"Did you get anything out of any one?" Jordan asked wanting to hit the man next to her. He not only got nothing out of the potential killer but he spooked the rest of the men in the community.

"That's why I called you guys. As much as we try, we're just not cut out to do this kind of thing." Garcia said looking tired.

"That's why we're here. Let's go over the files and see what we're working with. We'll find this guy." She said patting the man on the back.

Rick walked up the street to the last victim's house with Will.

"Notice how the neighbors watch our every move?" Will said.

"Typical gated community mentality. They can't imagine one of their own did this so they fear outsiders. We're outsiders, and you're a tall black man on top of that. For these closed minded Fox News watchers, you fit the scary image in their head of the man they think did this. I'm sure if we talked to the two black men that live in the community they will tell you they've been getting suspicious looks for the last two weeks." Rick said making sure to remember every face he saw. Killers tended to try to keep tabs on the investigation.

"I've been the scary black guy my whole life. If they only knew the percentages of white and black killers they would be shocked." Will said making sure to smile at everyone they passed.

"The shock would kill some of them. This is the house right? 1545 Dogwood lane." Rick said.

"Looks like it. How did the suspect get in the house? Looks like a good sturdy door. Alarms on all the windows. Spear topped gate to the back yard." Will said looking the house over.

"The garage. The file said he used a garage door opener." Rick said walking up to the front door and knocking.

The door opened and a six foot tall well built man in his thirties with blond hair opened the door. "Can I help you?" He asked.

"Mr. Hartley? I'm agent Castle, this is Agent Warner. We're with the FBI. We would like to ask you a few questions about your wife's murder." Rick said flashing his badge.

"Come in." The man said eyeing the two wearily.

"I would first off like to express my deepest condolences for your loss. I understand you were asleep in the room down the hall when she was attacked. That kind of thing really messes with a man's head." Rick said taking in the house as he followed the man into the sitting room.

"I didn't hear a thing. I didn't even know until I got up the next morning and I saw…" He trailed off looking close to tears.

"We're dealing with a highly skilled killer Mr. Hartley. I would be shocked if you did hear anything." Rick said watching his eyes as he spoke. He wasn't sure what he was expecting but a slight twitch of the corner of his lips was not it. Something wasn't right about that.

"What can you tell me about that night? Anything stand out in your mind as odd or out of place?" Rick asked.

"Nothing. I've been going over it in my head and nothing stands out at all. My wife and I got home at the same time at 6. Our daughter Emily came home from her friend's house down the street an hour later. We had dinner a little after that. Emily went up to her room to do homework. I went into the living room to watch Sports Center. My wife stayed at the dining room table writing. I checked on Emily at 10, and she was asleep. I said goodnight to Elizabeth and went to bed." He said looking haggard and tired.

"The report says the killer gained access to the house through the garage." Rick said trying to track his response.

"Funny thing about that, they don't tell you that there are only five codes for the doors and that any remote can open one out of five doors on the street." Hartley said looking pissed off.

"I just have one more question. I see you have moving boxes down here. Are you going somewhere?" Rick asked.

"I'm getting out of this house. I'm taking my daughter and going to my sister's house in Bakersfield. I can't live in the house were my wife was brutally killed." Hartley said looking sad.

"Thank you for your time. I might be back later if we find anything. Take my card, if you think of something call me. You would be shocked how the smallest fact can break a case like this open." Rick said waving Will out the door as he finished his notes.

"So, what do you think?" Will asked.

"He's hiding something, I'm not sure what it is but he's defiantly hiding something." Rick said looking over his notes as they walked back to the model house.

"You think he knows who the killer is?" Will asked.

"Maybe, maybe not. But he was holding back on me. And I don't buy the one in five garage door bullshit. None of these killings were random. The killer knew which house he was entering. That tells me he knows how to modify a garage door opener. Our guy has a tech background." Rick said as they walked into the house.

"Did you guys get anything?" Jordan asked.

"Not much. I have a timeline for the Hartley's. We also know our guy has a tech background. He modified a garage door opener to open any door in the development." Rick said writing out the timeline on the board.

"That's something. What we need is to look at all these people together. Is there a place we can call a town meeting?" Jordan asked the detective.

"The church is big enough to hold the whole town. Do you want me to call a town meeting?" He asked.

"I do, while you're doing that we can narrow these suspects down." Jordan said.

Rick poured a cup of coffee and took a drink. "Damn this is good. Who made the Joe?" Rick asked.

"That would be deputy Bob. Nice guy. I kind of want to steal him away. He's a nice guy, and he's happy to help in any way he can. He's like a puppy." Olivia said smiling.

"Like a puppy?" Rick asked smirking.

"Like a twenty five year old, corn fed, southern gentleman puppy. Can we keep him? He can stay in the office and make coffee, and get donuts and look good in his tight pants." Olivia said.

"Southern gentleman? We're in Orange County California." Rick said laughing.

"Deputy Bob is from Texas." Olivia said whimsically.

"Where is deputy Bob?" Rick asked.

"Getting us some BBQ burgers." Jordan said.

"I see, we should keep him if he can make the coffee and get us burgers." Rick said grabbing a stack of files.

An hour later and the team was standing by the altar in the front of the church waiting to start the town hall meeting. Most of the people showed up and like the files said they didn't have much in the way of diversity. Looking out at the sea of white faces was mildly disconcerting.

"This was Hitler's dream you know." Dash said smirking.

"Just an ocean of white." Olivia agreed.

"You guys are looking at this all wrong. You can't look at the similarities. You have to look for the differences. What do you see?" Jordan asked.

"White people." Will said trying not to laugh.

"I see rich white people and white people trying to look rich." Mike said.

"Explain." Jordan asked.

"Look at this front row. The family right in front of us is rich. Clean, expensive, new clothes. The kids have fresh Jordan's. The wife is wearing diamonds. The husband has a Rolex. Now look at the family next to them. Clean and expensive clothes, but not new. The kids have new shoes but not Jordan's. The wife has no big jewelry on, and he's not wearing a watch. Even in a group like this there are haves and have not's. I'm betting our killer is one of the have not's. Can you imagine living here and not having? Your neighbor goes out and buys a new BMW and you're driving an old Toyota. Your wife is complaining to you about the woman next door and how she just bought a new pair of earrings. That can become grating after a while. You start killing the haves." Mike said.

"Good call Mike. You might have just cracked this thing." Jordan said looking impressed.

"What about you Boss? You have that pensive look on your face and you're not talking." Will asked Rick.

"I'm staring at something and I can't put my finger on it. Something in my brain is trying to tell me something and I can't get it. It's like when you have a name on the tip of your tongue and you can't spit it out." Rick said sounding frustrated.

"Don't try to force it, it will come to you, we have time. The meeting is just about to start." Jordan said.

Just then a family walked into the church with a big golden Labrador and it saw another chocolate lab and they barked at each other until the family wrangled the dog down the isle.

"That's it! Pets. Killers don't have pets! What do you see around this room? Families with dogs because that's the stereotype right? Well a killer won't have that. They grow up killing pets, not taking care of them. It's something we forgot to add to the list." Rick said.

"With those two things we can start cutting our list." Jordan said.

"I can go back to the house and see if we can get a list of families with pet." Olivia said.

"I'll go with you. I can start looking up financial records." Dash said.

"Go, we'll get a list of everyone here and see if we can get anything else." Jordan said.

As they walked out the front door a cop car pulled up with two deputies. "Agent Moss, I thought the meeting was set to start at seven?" Deputy Bob asked.

"Hey Deputy Bob. We're headed back to the house. We have a few leads to look at." Olivia.

"You two need some help? We could follow you back." Bob said with a helpful smile.

"Sure Bob. In fact you might be able to help me with something. We need a list of all the families that own pets." Olivia said walking up to the tall Deputy.

"We have a list of pets in the guard house. Deputy Ross here can take your partner to the station to get it." Bob said with a helpful smile.

"Great idea Bob. You can ride back to the house with me." Olivia said waving Bob over to the SUV.

"Can I ask you a question Agent Moss?" Bob asked.

"Sure Deputy Bob. Ask me anything." She said smiling at his soft nature.

"I get the feeling you guys have been keeping us out of the loop in this investigation." Bob said.

"Was that a question?" She asked making him laugh.

"I guess it wasn't. What I'm asking is, why are you guys keeping us out of the investigation?" He asked.

"I don't think it's a conscious decision on our part. We just got here and we're trying to sort everything out. Your boss had almost two weeks to find this killer and he failed pretty bad. We have to sort out everything he did and try to see what he got right before we can even start to get into the case." Olivia said as they pulled into the model house driveway.

"So you guys are trying to figure out what Garcia did. Why not start with new facts?" Bob asked as they walked into the house.

"Good question Bob. Very good question. In fact let's try it. Tell me if something doesn't feel right about this witness statement to you. Rick just got it today and something about the husband didn't sit right with him. They get home at six. They eat at seven. They all go to bed around ten…" She said

"Wait. That can't be right. The Hartley's are night owls especially the daughter. I've caught her many times sneaking out to her friends house way after midnight." He said.

"Then that means she was awake when her mother died and that's the reason he's packing her up and taking her out of here. He knows the killer knows she was awake and he's getting her out before the killer comes back for her. We have to get over there now and see what she knows." Olivia said grabbing her coat and heading to the door.

They arrived at the house and no one was home. "Shit. We missed them." Olivia said.

"No wait, that's his SUV coming now." Deputy Bob said.

The SUV pulled into the driveway and Tom Hartley and his daughter got out. "Can I help you?" He asked looking shifty.

"Where were you just now?" Deputy Bob asked.

"She was just saying good bye to her friend and I needed to get some tools I left at a friends house." He said calmly as they walked into the house.

"Mr. Hartley I think I know why you're packing up and leaving." Olivia said trying to gage his reaction.

"You do?" He asked looking fearful.

"Your daughter saw something last night and you're trying to get her out of the community before the killer comes for her." Olivia said watching his eyes. She saw panic, then confusion, and then relief.

"I'm not sure but I don't want to take any chances." He said looking upstairs where his daughter's room was.

"Do you mind if I go talk to her." Olivia asked.

"If you think it will help, but this doesn't go on any record." He said.

"Don't worry, we'll just have a nice little talk." Olivia said heading up the stairs.

The town hall meeting was just breaking up when Detective Garcia ran up to the group standing off to the side of the room. "It happened again. Judy Long, 34 year old brunette. She was found by her husband when he went home she was late coming home from work and didn't come to the meeting. It's the same MO as the other victims." Garcia said.

"Shit!" Rick said shaking his head.

"Well at least we know he wasn't here tonight. Let's take the list of all the men that were here tonight and cross them off the full list. Then work it backwards from there." Jordan said walking out of the church.

A short ride back to the model house and they were all standing around the table looking at the stack of files. "We need to start from the beginning. We need to eliminate all these men and then start cutting names off the new short list." Jordan said putting the list on the table.

"Where's the full list? Who's missing?" Rick asked the detective.

"It's just a few of my deputies and the husbands." He said handing over the other files he put aside at the start of the case.

"The husband's?" Jordan asked looking over the files. "Why would you cut the husbands from the list?" She asked looking at Garcia like he was retarded.

"Shouldn't they be eliminated? Were looking for a serial killer. Normally the husband would be the prime suspect, but in this case wouldn't they be eliminated from the suspect pool?" The detective said.

Dash walked in holding a file in his hand followed by deputy Ross. "What's going on?" He asked looking over Mike's shoulder.

"There was another murder during the meeting." Mike said.

"Dash, get on the computer and look up anything you can find on the three husbands." Jordan said.

"Are we talking about Hartley? Because the wife had some journal entrees about him that make me question the relationship." He said firing the laptop.

"What do you mean?" Rick asked.

"She said they were having some communication issues." Dash said looking up his record.

"This place is like a small town. What do you know Detective?" Jordan asked.

"The Hartley's were on the rocks. She started seeing a therapist and he started running during the morning and night so they didn't have to deal with each other. To tell you the truth he was my best suspect until his wife was murdered." Garcia said.

"Hartley works as an IT consultant, he's six foot tall and he plays rugby on the weekends." Dash said.

"Does he have a dog?" Rick asked.

"No. no pets at all." Dash said looking over the list.

"I think we have our guy." Will said leading the group towards the door.

"Wait! Where's Olivia?" Mike asked.

Olivia sat on the floor with Emily. "Sweetie. I think you know something." She said softly. She was thinking about all her training in child interviewing.

"I do?" Emily asked looking confused.

"I think you do, and I want to help you." Olivia said.

"Help me with what?"

"Help you get it off your chest. By talking to me you can stop worrying about keeping a secret." Olivia said smiling softly.

At that moment Tim Hartley walked into the room with a glass of water. "Here you go Agent Moss." He said.

"Thank you. Emily was just about to tell me her secret." Olivia said taking the glass.

"Was she?" Tim said looking at his daughter with a cold look that made the hairs on the back of Olivia's neck stand up.

"Well, maybe. That depends on if she knows anything. Do you know anything?" Olivia asked feeling trapped.

"I don't know." Emily said looking at her dad with a questioning look on her face.

Just then her phone range. "Moss." She said calmly as she stood up.

"Olivia, where are you?" Jordan asked.

"I was checking your theory about Emily Hartley, but I don't think she knows anything." Olivia said hoping her boss would pick up on her tone and panic.

"Can you get to your gun?" Jordan asked waving the team out of the of the house and into the SUVs.

"No Ma'am, I'm still talking to Emily Hartley." Olivia said smiling at Emily and her dad who looked panicked and angry.

"Try to get out of there. We're on our way right now." Jordan said hopping into an SUV as it took off headed for the Hartley home.

"Understood Ma'am." Olivia said hanging up. "I need to go. My boss wants me back at the model house. She thinks she has a lead." Olivia said smiling.

"A lead?" Hartley asked walking towards her.

"Yes, she thinks it's one of the deputies. Speaking of deputies, where is deputy Bob?" Olivia asked slipping her cell phone into her pocket next to her gun. She thought she was being subtly but before she could pull her gun out Hartley was on her with a knife to her throat.

"Move and you die." He said coldly.

"They're coming here right now you know? If you listen closely you can hear the sirens." Olivia said trying to act calm but she was scared she was going to die.

"How did you know it was me?" He asked holding her so tightly around the chest with his left arm that it was squeezing the air out of her lungs.

"I didn't until you panicked. I must say I'm impressed. You would have gotten away with it if you just kept your cool for a little bit longer." Olivia said.

"Shut up!" He said digging the blade into her neck.

"Daddy don't do this!" Emily said crying.

"You might want to send her out of the room. You don't want her seeing you get shot." Olivia said feeling the blade break the skin on her neck. She heard the SUVs screech to a halt out front and she knew she was going to make it out of this situation alive.

Out front two SUVs and two Cop cars pulled up and Rick and Will were the first ones out. "Set up a perimeter. You two get in there and help Moss." Jordan said.

"Don't have to tell us twice." Will said kicking in the front door with Rick right on his heel.

"The girls room is upstairs." Rick said leading Will up the stairs. At the top of the stairs they saw Hartley using Olivia as a shield with a knife at her throat and Emily crying. "Take the girl out of here." Rick said with his X-FIVE pointed at Hartley's head.

"If you have the shot take it." Olivia wheezed out.

"Shut up Moss." Rick said calmly. "Tom, I want you to know from this distance I can paint the wall behind you with your gray matter without blinking. It's what I do. But I'm giving you one chance to give up right now." Rick said.

"And what? Go to prison." Tom said.

"Look. I don't care one way or the other, are you saying you want to die? Because I can make that happen. You killed four women and a deputy. I can shoot you in the face, and go get something to eat afterwards. You mean nothing to me, your life is forfeit the second you put that knife to her throat." Rick said smiling.

"So what's stopping me from killing this bitch?" Tim asked.

"Nothing, in fact kill her. She's a royal bitch. You got that part right." Rick said.

"What!" Olivia said.

"Is this some kind of trick? You think you can trick me? You think I'm stupid?" Tim asked.

"No I think you don't have the balls to do it. I don't think you're our killer. I think it's someone else. I think you're a little bitch." Rick said.

"You don't think I did it? I did it! I killed those stuck up bitches. The deputy was an accident!" Tim said taking the knife away from Olivia's throat to point at him as he talked. As soon as he did Rick shot him in the head dropping him like a sack of bricks.

"Jesus H Christ!" Olivia said as her whole body started to shake and her knees buckled. Rick was there to catch her. "What was that shit about killing me?" She half yelled and half asked.

"I had to get him to take the knife away from your throat. If I would have shot him with that blade in your neck you could have died. One twitch and he could have severed your corroded. So I figured I could talk to him long enough to get the blade away before I blew his brains out for touching you." Rick said as he carried her out of the room and down the stairs.

"For touching me? Not for the other shit he did?" She asked smiling up at him.

"Hell yes for touching you. I had to do it before Mike got to the guy. I just shot him. Mike would have done things against the code of conduct." Rick said as Mike came in through the front door looking panicked. He ran up to them and grabbed Olivia by the face and kissed her.

"I thought you were…" Mike said looking worried as Rick set her on her feet.

"Rick took care of him. He's not going to be strangling anyone again. He's not going to be doing anything at all." Olivia said wrapping her arms around Mike's neck.

"Thanks Rick I owe you." Mike said sincerely.

"He touched our Olivia. It's what happens." Rick said patting the two on the back. "Now take her back to the house and get a bandage on that neck." Rick said aiming them out the door as Jordan came out of the kitchen.

"We will Rick." Mike said leading Olivia out of the house as she hung on him.

"Hartley?" Jordan asked.

"Didn't make it." Rick said dropping into a chair by the door as his hands started to shake.

"You okay?" Jordan asked holding his face.

"Yes, it's just the God damn adrenaline." Rick said flexing his fingers.

"That's not what I'm asking." She said taking his hand in hers.

"You mean Hartley? I'm fine with that. That man killed four women and a deputy. The nice one. Deputy Bob. He made a good cup of coffee." Rick said looking at the body under the white sheet sadly. "What I'm not okay with is the fact that I didn't shoot him yesterday. He killed his wife, that other woman Judy Long, and Deputy Bob. Twenty four hours and he killed three innocent people. How the hell do you do this job Jordan? We were called in this morning and in six hours he managed to kill another woman and Bob." Rick said.

"I told you before. We do it for the next three women on his list. He was leaving. He was taking his daughter and running. He would have set up in another city and started killing again. We would have gotten a call in a month from the Bakersfield police department after he killed three more women. We do this job to stop killers." She said rubbing his hands.

"Good shot Boss." Will said patting Rick on the back as he walked up to them.

"Thanks Will, where's the kid?" Rick asked standing up. He squeezed Jordan's hand one more time before getting his head back in the game.

Jordan stood there with a small smile on her face. Rick would be okay. And they stopped another killer. Despite the loss of Judy Long and Deputy Bob it was still a win. They found a killer in six hours.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Generals and Sand spiders.

Rick was excited, today was the day they were going to get their class assignments. This was nothing new for the rest of the Jr. Agents but this was a first for Rick. He was sure he tested out of the basic classes and now he was looking forward to the fun stuff. Advanced weapons and tactics. Profiling master class. Something fun like that. He couldn't wait, and Jordan was holding it over him like a big game. She knew what he was going to get. She's the one that picked his classes, but she wouldn't tell him until the whole team got their assignments.

"Looking forwards to advanced weapons? It's run in small teams, you're going to partner with me right?" Will asked.

"If I get advanced weapons. I could be stuck doing procedures and law. Or something equally boring." Rick said.

"Hey, some of us liked procedures and law." Olivia said looking up from her book.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to Procedures and law." Mike said smiling at Olivia who smiled back briefly before going back to her book.

"Suck up." Dash said.

"Hey, you leave Mike alone. He knows where his bread gets buttered and he's trying to keep it that way." Will said patting Mike on the back with a smile.

"How is Melissa these days?" Dash asked smirking.

"Busy, Burk keeps her and her team busy working case background. We still make time for date night." Will said smiling.

"Good on you Will, now that most of us are happy we need to find someone for Dash. He's the only one here not getting laid." Rick said.

"Look alive people the Boss is coming and she's got company." Will said sitting up. Jordan walked passed their desk with an older gentleman in a green Army uniform.

"In the conference room now. We have a case." Jordan said walking into the conference room

"That was a two star general." Will said as they followed.

"I wonder what's going on." Olivia said.

"Team this is General Sanderson. This is his story so I'll let him tell it." Jordan said before taking a seat at the table.

"Good morning, about eight months ago I was tasked with putting together a team to build the next generation heavy weapons system. The parameters were simple, it had to fire a .50 caliber armor piercing round. It had to be easy to carry. And it had to have a good rate of fire. Now as you can imagine, the government works about as slow as you think it does when it comes to this stuff so we shopped out the challenge to a few custom gun shops. Parker and sons of Georgia came up with the best design. This is the Parker 50." He said showing the blueprints for a gun that looked like a super sized AK47. "They even produced ten working prototypes to show us the cost effectiveness of producing them in bulk. Then this happened this morning." He said putting in a dvd and hitting play.

They saw a gun shop surveillance video shot from an overhead camera. They saw three men working behind counters that covered three walls. A woman in a sundress and sunglasses walked in. She asked to see a Ruger .22, and when the guy turned to answer a phone she pulled a magazine out of her purse, stuck it into the gun and shot each of the three store clerks in the head with deadly accuracy and skill. She then shot the camera.

"The woman on the camera is Ursa David AKA the desert fox. She's ex Israeli Mossad. Now she's an assassin and arms dealer. She hit the store and cleaned them out. She took the ten Parker 50s, and we think she's going to try to sell them to our rivals. We have time on our side right now. She can't move anything out of the country because we raised the terror threat level. She needs to lie low for a week until this blows over. We would like you guys to help us find her." The general said.

"Sir, no offence, but why contact us? Why not put her photo up on every screen in the country and have people call you if they spot her? People are nosey, especially in the south. Why not let them find her for you?" Mike asked.

"None taken son, the problem is Ursa is a master of disguise. She's probably been in the country for a few weeks building a cover persona that looks nothing like the woman on tape and she's now using that persona to hide out somewhere she's spent time watching and controlling. If we go wide with this story she'll pack up her operation. Stash the guns somewhere we will never find them and come back in six months to dig them up when we stop looking for them." Sanderson said tossing a file on the table full of different women. They all looked different and yet you could tell they were all the same person.

"So we're dealing with a spider. She builds a nest. Waits for her target cargo and then waits to see if anyone comes looking for her nest." Rick said reading her file.

"Yes, and she's the best there is. If she spots you coming she will shoot first and as you can see from the tape she doesn't miss." Sanderson said looking haunted.

"Well then our best bet is going to be finding the crew she hired to help her pull this off. The clock on the wall said 9:35 before she shot it and your report says the 911 call came in at 10:03 am from a customer walking into the shop. From the tape I can see racks and racks of rifles and shotguns and about two hundred handguns in the cases. You have to figure they were working on other stuff for customers in the back too. That's a lot of stock to move into a truck for one person even if they had a whole day to do it. You have to figure she had a crew of guys to strip that store in a half an hour. We should take a trip down to the armory and figure out how many guns we can move from one side of the training room to the other in a minute. That way we can estimate the size of the crew. We should also look into any trucks that went missing in the weeks leading up to the robbery." Rick said.

"Good call, you, Will, and Olivia handle that. The rest of you prep for takeoff. The General has offered to drop us off at the airport in his chopper." Jordan said.

Rick lead Will and Olivia down to the basement. When the elevator doors opened they got off, turned left instead of right to the firing range, and headed towards the tactical room at the end of a short hall. They passed by Garza's office and he saw them through the window. He stopped them from going into the tactical room with a wave of his hand.

"I'm sorry but you can't go in there unless your in Advanced Weapons and Tactics class." He said with a smirk.

"I see Jordan told you about that." Rick said with a smile as he took a seat in one of the four chairs in Garza's prison cell of an office.

"Yes she has." He said

"Well we came down here for a reason. We need to borrow your training weapons for a few minutes. We're working a case where a gun store was cleaned out and we want to get a rough estimate of how many guns some one can move into a truck in a minute to calculate how many guys we're looking for." Rick said.

"Well the weapon's cage is in the armory." He said leading them out of his office and down two doors to the room next to the range. Inside the room was a big cage that took up most of the room Garza opened the cage and waved them into the cage. Rick walked in and looked at the walls and racks full of tactical weapons and handguns. His grin got bigger.

"I want to touch." Rick muttered unconsciously.

"Weirdo." Olivia said shaking her head.

"Speak for yourself." Will said pulling an M4 off the wall. "Hello old friend." he said smiling.

"I want one of everything." Rick said grabbing a MP5Sd6 off the rack.

"I'm going to enjoy having you two in my class." Garza said before he realized what he said but it didn't matter the only one that heard him was Olivia.

"Hey you two big dummies! Put down the toys and let's get this over with." She said taking off her light gray jacket and pulling her hair up.

They ran the drill three times. Will went first. Olivia called out the start and Will rushed into the cage with Rick following him to record him. and scooped six M4s off the rack with one arm and grabbed the Milcore grenade launcher with his left hand. He rushed out of the room and down the hall to the firing range where they laid out a few wool camp blankets he dropped off his load and ran back for more. At the one minute mark Olivia called out stop and they counted the loot. In one minute Will grabbed four racks of ten M4s, four grenade launchers, a rack of ten MP5s, and a Remington 700 sniper rifle. They reset the cage and Rick went next with will following him to record it. When she called out the start. Rick ran into the room with three camp blankets. He spread them out on the floor and dumped all eight racks of M4s on to two of them and dumped the five racks of MP5s onto the third blanket. He then grabbed the four corners of the first blanket and hauled it out into the hallway. He did the same thing with his second blanket but he ran out of time as he grabbed his third blanket. Olivia ran the same course but she slung a big duffle bag over her shoulder. In one minute she took every handgun and every dummy flash bang grenade out of the room in that one big bag. She could barely walk it out of the room but it was a very effective way of clearing the pegs on the walls and the shelves. As they hung all of the beat up Sig 229 training guns back on the pegs they talked about their results.

"Well in three minutes we cleared out this cage. I don't see how a crew of three guys couldn't do the same. Sure the cage was set up so that everything was easy to get to fast, but you have to account for the fact that none of us are dressed to do something like this. If we were dressed in workout gear and the truck was backed up to the door we could clear out a shop full of guns in ten minutes." Olivia said.

"I like the fact that we all picked a different way to do this. It showed us the best way to work is by using different methods. Will's smash and grab method worked good for the rifles. My blanket method worked good for the MP5s. And Olivia showed us how fast she could clear a shelf with a duffle bag. Figure three guys doing something like we did. Two guys in the back to clear out the workshop. A guy in the truck to keep dragging the stuff tossed into the truck to the front of the truck to keep making room, and the sand spider to keep track of the time and watch out for cops. That's six men and the Sand Spider." Rick said.

"You really like using that name don't you?" Olivia asked as the closed up the cage.

"I really do. It's cool. We're going after an international arms dealer! That's spy stuff!" Rick said with a big grin as the hopped on the elevator.

"Over grown child." Olivia muttered as she walked out of the elevator on their floor.

"Will back me up, it's cool right?" Rick asked looking up at his tall friend.

"It's cool." Will said with a grin as they followed Olivia to their desks.

"Thank you." Rick said tossing things out of his desk into his leather messenger bag.

Something he learned from the advanced weapons and tactics guide book. If he was taking the class or not he still got the book and read it from cover to cover. The bag was one of the must haves. In it he had a box of 9mm hollow points. Two magazines with 145 grain full metal jacketed rounds. He also had his Sig 229 back up gun. Three back up magazines for both guns. A full sized Maglite. An extendable baton. A tactical out the front knife. A clean canteen with water. An MRE. A full field medic first aid kit. But his favorite item was a taser. Will carried a bag just like it but he preferred a black backpack. Jordan came off the elevator with two small suitcases and a suit bag.

"I see you grabbed our bags." He said taking the suit bag and the green canvas and brown suede bag.

"Yeah the general is waiting on the roof. Lets go people!" she said rounding up her troops. Soon the whole team was riding the elevator to the top floor. They walked out to the helipad and saw an army green Black Hawk helicopter waiting for them. Rick took one look at the chopper and ran up the stairs.

"This is so cool!" He called back to the rest of the team as he took a seat on the chopper.

"It's a black Hawk. Relax." Jordan said rolling her eyes.

"Come on! What is wrong with you people? We're working for the military, to track down an arms dealer that stole a top secret weapon! I'm a tuxedo short of a bond film." Rick said as they piled into the chopper with the General.

"Too cool." Mike said from his seat next to him.

"Thanks Mike." He said.

They landed at the airport just long enough for the agents to get out and the chopper took off. They boarded the G5 and soon they were headed South to Atlanta. On the plane they all took a part of the file and looked it over. The more they read the more they had to agree with Rick. It was hard to deny they were working a James Bond style case when most of the files had the words Top Secret, and CIA, or NSA stamped on them. Then there was the information written in the documents themselves. They were dealing with a true master of disguise. Her missions were well thought out, planned to the t, and she had contingency plan after contingency plan. If they wanted to catch her they had to work the crew. There was no other way. By this point in her plan she would have a name and face that her neighbors knew and they would be reluctant to give her up even if they thought it was their friend and neighbor on the news.

The only advantage they had on her was her living needs. She was used to a certain level of creature comfort. She liked fine wines, good food, and the arts. She had a vast private collection of painting and she was always looking for something to add to her collection. They landed in Atlanta and went straight to the Atlanta FBI field office to get situated. Soon they were trying to hammer out a strategy for catching the Sand Spider.

"Look, I think we look at local arrest records for a big group of guys that got popped for drunk and disorderly. These idiots she hired got paid well to keep their mouth's shut and the first thing they're going to do is go spend it." Will said.

"It's a good idea, but we have to also think of the possibility that she might have popped her crew after the job was done. She killed the three store clerks like it was nothing. She could have took the truck to a barn. Got out and sprayed crew full of hot lead." Dash said.

"Poetic, but I doubt it, she has a reputation for paying well and not killing her crew, she has a good reputation and I don't think she'll want to jeopardise that for a few thousand dollars." Rick said patting the brit on the back as he took his seat.

"Then what else are we going to do? Sit around and wait for something to happen?" Dash asked with a smirk.

"No, we rob an art museum and sell her a piece she can't resist. We just have to make a few calls, I can have Neal make a copy of a painting, we can stage a robbery and make sure it gets on the news. Then through contacts in the underworld we can offer up the painting to the highest bidder." Rick said with a smirk.

"We do both, in fact do any of you have any other ideas? We have to move fast on this." Jordan asked the rest of the group.

"She has expensive tastes. There can't be more than a few dozen shops here in Atlanta that carry the things she likes. We should check some of these places out. I mean how many places carry Beluga caviar, white truffle oil, dom perignon, raw cacao nibs, and what the fuck is Moose milk cheese?" Olivia asked looking at a list.

"Cheese made from moose milk." Rick said.

"You've had it before?" She asked.

"No, but I can figure it out using context clues." Rick said with a smirk causing Olivia t give him a dark look.

"Okay that's enough you two. Rick grow up and stop being a pest, Olivia grow a sense of humor. Now can you two work together?" Jordan asked looking at her two smartest agents.

"Yes boss." Rick said with an easy smile and an apologetic look in his eyes.

"If I have to." Olivia said trying to hold back a smile.

"Good. You two run down her idea through your mystery man, Mr. Smith. I'll make a call to Neal and Peter and see if they can help us with this. You four start running through all the drunk and disorderlies over the last few days and see if any group stands out." Jordan said as they were breaking up she pulled Rick off to the side.

"What can I do for you Boss?" He asked with a sexy smile that made her blush and laugh.

"I just wanted to say that whatever it costs to bring your guy in to locate this woman the FBI will pick up the tab. We have a rocky track record when it comes to dealing with other agencies and branches of the military. We need this win more than ever and I don't care how we get it. It will open doors with other groups. It means promotions, commendations, and good marks in files. If we can leas with the military it opens doors we can't normally open. The faster this is delth with the better." Jordan said.

"It's no big deal, i'll have Neal do a cash drop using the white collar discretionary fund money. It's our petty cash too you know? I set it up like that. There's close to five million in a safe in Peter's office." Rick said nodding.

"Good thinking, I'll tell Neal to wait for your call. We also might need your jet to bring them down here for a few days if we have to do your stolen art play. It will be faster to have them fly down or at least Peter and his team to fly down with the painting. Neal is on a tight leash and I don't know if he can just fly down?" Jordan said thinking about all the pieces on the chessboard.

"Whatever you need, you know I can have my jet fueled and ready to go in a half hour. The twins just need to do a preflight takeoff and landing." Rick said with a shrug and a smile but it fell off his face and he got serious. "We'll get her Jordan, you have my word, and you know you have the best team in the FBI working under you. Do you want me to spread the word with the team? I can say it came from me." Rick said.

"Maybe, let your boys know and tell Olivia. Dash and Fay won't be able to handle the stress. They work better when they have confidence." She said.

"Got it boss." He said nodding with a firm nod before walking out of the room. He saw Olivia waiting for him by an empty desk. She saw his serious face and she was confused.

"What's going on Rick?" She asked.

"Nothing much, I just think Jordan is starting to see the importance this case has. You know how important it is right?" Rick asked.

"Sure I mean we have a James Bond style villain on the loose." Olivia said.

"No, aside from that. We were called in by Army brass. If we get this win we might be called on in the future again. It also opens other doors to other agencies. Think about how important that is. The FBI needs this win." Rick said looking at her to see if she made the connections didn't until Jordan told him. Olivia was the smartest member of their team next to Jordan. He watched as her jaw set into a hard line and her eyes got sharper and harder.

"We need this fucking win." She said calmly but there was blood behind her words. It was the knowledge that she would kill to get this win.

"Good. So let's go get it. I need to make a few phone calls outside this building, I need you to go tell Mike and Will. but..." Rick started to say but she cut him off.

"I know, my team can't handle the pressure." She said walking away.

"She's going to be director of the FBI one day." Rick said with a proud smile.

By the time Olivia came back to the desk she saw Rick standing with his bag. He lead her out to a Black SUV and they drove a few miles into a run down neighborhood. He pulled over in a convenience store parking lot. He got out and walked into the store. He came out ten minutes later with a few bags full of candy bars, sodas, and chips.

"What was all this about?" She asked as he handed her a Kit kat and a Red Bull.

"I called my friend the ex spook. He's waiting for a dead drop." Rick said pulling out his phone as he drove back to the FBI building. "Hey Jordan, can you send a copy of the file we have to Neal, in fact send it to Peter over the secure FBI Email. I'm going to call Neal now and tell him what to do with it." Rick said.

"I can do that. Is Mr. Smith willing to work on this?" She asked.

"He's waiting for a dead drop." Rick said with a smile.

"Good." Jordan said with a noticeable calm to her tone. "I'll send it now."

"We'll be back in a few minutes." Rick said before hanging up and calling Peter's office.

"Berk." He answered.

"Hey Peter, it's Rick can you call Neal into your office?" Rick asked.

"He's sitting in my office right now. Hold on. You're on speaker with me and Neal."

"Good, You're going to get a file in your sucre email. I need you to put it on a flash drive and hand the drive and $150,000 to Neal. Neal I need you to put all of that in a shopping bag and take it to the park. Sit on the west side bench by the fountain by the south entrance of the park and wait for a man to sit next to you. He's going to ask for the time tell him 10:45. He'll ask for the bag. Just hand it to him. He'll walk away. Sit there for a few minutes and then get up and walk away." Rick said.

"Is this the guy that found Adler?" Neal asked getting excited at the prospect of meeting the man that helped him catch Kate's killer.

"It is, but I need you to not address that with him. Don't talk to him, don't make eye contact, and don't make any sudden movements. This guy is very paranoid. He's an old spy and the reason he's still alive is because he doesn't trust anyone. So just hand him the bag and let him walk away. This man is armed and if you start talking your libel to get shot. If I was in New York I would do this myself. I'm trusting you to do this because you can act cool under pressure." Rick said.

"You can count on me Rick. I'll get it done." Neal said understanding the situation. He was being called on to do something only Rick could do and he was being called on to do because Rick trusted him.

"Good, I knew I could count on you. Did Jordan call you about the art forgery?" Rick asked.

"She did, I can copy anything in any museum as long as i'm standing next to it when I work. So i'll consult with Mozzie to figure out what she'll go for and then we'll have Peter work out the details with the museum curator. We'll leave a few million dollars as a cash deposit and take the painting back to your place. It's the most secure place we can think of besides the FBI building but we want to keep this off the books. Also your big industrial oven is big enough to cook a good sized painting to weather it. I'll set up my art supplies make the copy right there in your living room. We had Jordan call Martha and she's waiting for us, she even had the girls clear some floor space. We'll leave the real piece in your apartment for a few days and run the fake painting to you in Atlanta." Neal said confidently.

"Good, are you going to be able to come down to Atlanta to do the sale if not we can use Olive for the sale and have Will and Mike act as her security." Rick Asked as they pulled into the garage of the FBI building.

"No i'll be able to come down to handle the undercover work on this one. Diana is going to be with me and she can act as my backup with Will." Neal said.

"That's great news. We need you on this one Neal. You're the best guy we have when it comes to undercover work. Bring Sara with you when you come, we're staying at the W hotel in downtown Atlanta. Tell Diana to bring her better half too. You'll be taking my jet." Rick said.

"I'll spread the word. I'll call you after I do the dorp." Neal said.

"Thank's again for doing this." Rick said as he got out of the SUV.

"I'm just happy to help." Neal said.

"Well thank you anyway." Rick said hanging up.

"You two going to need some time alone together when he gets here so you can continue to blow each other?" Olivia asked with a straight face.

"Funny." Rick said as they walked onto the elevator.

"I think it's cute you have a boyfriend, does Jordan know?" Olivia asked smirking.

"Now it's not funny." He said.

"How are things going with you and the boss? Not well if you're hooking up with Caffrey." She said

"Keep messing with me and i'll make you regret it. You're smart but i'm mean and I know how you play dirty." Rick said not finding it funny.

"Do you worst. You got nothing on me." She said with a smile that feel off her face as he turned to her and got close to her ear.

"Does Mike know you love him and it's keeping you up at night? Does he know you're freaked out about the fact that this is the first time you've fallen in love? Does he know you're thinking about ways to destroy what you have with him so you don't have to worry about him hurting you?" Rick asked in a soft voice that drained the color from her face and broth tears to her eyes.

"Fuck you." She said softly.

"What was that you said?" He asked.

"I said fuck you!" She yelled as the doors opened to the office. Half the people in the office turned to look at them and Rick smiled.

"Told you not to play with me." He said going to step off the elevator.

"No you don't!" She said grabbing his arm and pulling him back into the elevator car as the doors closed she slammed the basement button and spun him around. "You don't get to fuck with my head just to get back at me for a joke!" She said looking like she wanted to kill him and sob at the same time. It was at that moment that Rick knew he fucked up.

"Shit, I didn't… I thought you would laugh it off. I didn't really know I took a shot in the dark. Shit. i'm sorry." Rick said looking and feeling like a total ass.

"Well you did. You fucking hit it right on the head. How did you know?" She asked dropping back to the corner of the car and sinking a bit.

"Look. I know most of the facts but if you're looking for advice then I need more information. Now i'm more then happy to talk this out with you for both Mike and your sake but if we're doing this then we need to really do it. Go back to the SUV and i'll go run up to the office and tell Jordan what's going on." Rick said.

"No, we have work to do. I need to…" She started to say but the doors opened in the garage and Rick pushed her out.

"And Smith is handling the grunt work we have nothing to do for the next few hours until he gets back to us. Now go wait in the car and i'll be right down. I can fix this." Rick said throwing her the key to the SUV as the doors closed. Rick rode the elevator up to the tenth floor and Jordan was standing there waiting for him.

"Do I want to know?" She asked as he stepped off the elevator with the bags.

"We were joking around and then I went too far and I hit a raw nerve. I'm going to try to patch it up and maybe save us all some headaches in a few months." Rick said setting the bags of junk food on the desk he was using.

"Okay, we're in a holding pattern right now anyways. Bring back some real food when you come back." Jordan said understanding what he meant.

"Where are my guys?" Rick asked looking around for his team.

"Running down leads at the local police lockup." She said taking a bag of hot cheetos and a Monster out of the bag.

"Good, i'll be back in a couple of hours." Rick said taking her hand and giving it a quick squeeze before he turned around and headed back to the elevator. He looked up good restaurant and when he got into the SUV Olivia looked almost back to normal but her eyes were red ringed and they held a sadness to them. Rick took them out of the garage and headed downtown to the Morton's steakhouse. It was just before six in the afternoon and the sun was almost totally set.

"Where are we headed?" She asked.

"Morton's, we're going to have a good meal, and we're going to talk. And we'll keep talking until we're good. Now, how are things going between you and Mike?" Rick asked as he drove.

"Good, almost too good. Mike is a kind and dependable man and surprisingly good in bed… oh good I don't think I can talk to you about this stuff. It feels really weird." She said.

"Why? Because i'm a guy? I live in a house surrounded by women. I always have. I know things that a man is never supposed to know. Or is it because Mike is my guy? Because anything you say to me I can keep to myself. I might tell Jordan but that's as far as information goes. Or are you uncomfortable with the fact that you're attracted to me?" He asked.

"No, Maybe, and hell no. What makes you think i'm attracted to you?" She asked looking at him like he had two heads.

"What makes me think you're attracted to me? Every woman is attracted to me. It's the burned I must carry. Everyone thinks it must be great to be this ruggedly handsome, but no one really has to live with the consequences of this level of hotness. I mean women just throw themselves… why are you laughing? It's not funny. It's horrible." Rick said making her laugh harder.

"Well any attraction I might have felt is definitely gone now." She said smiling as he drove up to the front of a restaurant in the valet line. When they got to the front Rick got out and handed the kid a twenty.

"This is an FBI car. If you touch anything, or even look at anything it would be bad for you. Now park it somewhere close and have it ready when I get out and there's two more of those in it for you." Rick said in a dangerous tone. The kid in the red jacket took the key from him like it would explode and drove the car around to the side of the building next to the staff cars.

"You scared the shit out of him." Olivia said with a smile.

"It's a company car." Rick said walking passed the group of people standing in line and right up to the materde. "Table for two, somewhere out of earshot. No need for romantics we have business to discuss. The name is Richard Castle, if you look in the system I'm a prefered member." Rick said in a confident tone. The man in a nice black suit and crisp white shirt looked from Rick to the tablet in front of him. He punched in the name and his eyes got big.

"If you'll just follow me sir." He said in a rushed tone as he took them through the dining room full of people and into a private room in the back with a few tables. All of them were empty at the moment and after they were seated a train of waiters came through the door with place settings, silverware, glasses, and a small vase with fresh cut flowers. The last waiter had two menus, and a wine list. He handed them the menus.

"We don't need menus I just need to ask my partner here a few questions. Do you have any food hang ups? And how hungry are you?" Rick asked her across the table.

"None and rovaness." She said.

"Good then we'll have an order of the crab cakes and an order of the Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella. We'll take two filet mignon, medium rare. For sides we'll share an order of bacon mac and cheese, horseradish mashed potatoes, and onion rings. I want extra horseradish sauce, and onion jelly on the side, as for the wine do you have a bottle of Pine Ridge cabernet?" Rick asked the waiter.

"We have a nice bottle of 2003." The waiter said.

"Perfect. We'll take the bottle. Also can we have five of everything I just ordered to go when we get ready to leave? Throw in three bottles of wine with it." Rick said.

"Right away sir." The waiter said bustling out of the room.

"What's with the five star service?" Olivia asked. She was no stranger to a nice restaurant. She grew up with money after all but she wasn't used to this level of 'rush to get it' service.

"I'm a gold list member, I eat at a Morton's three to five times a month. I have the fifth avenue location on speed dial." Rick said as the waiter brought the bottle of wine and poured two glasses, he left the bottle and cork on the table.

"Well, then to gold member service." She said clinking her glass with his.

"Now, how are things going?" He asked.

Olivia looked like she was going to say something but then she stopped. She took a drink from her glass and looked at the red wine in her glass for a minute. She glanced at Rick but he was calm and he had a soft open and honest look on his face. It was a look that reminded her of her dead father. Thinking about her father made her sad and she felt a tear slide down her cheek. Rick reached out and took her left hand on the table.

"Hey, where did you go?" He asked softly.

"I was thinking about my dad. You remind me of him when you have that look in your eye." She said sadly.

"We never really talk about your father." He said as a statement of fact, but she knew it was a question.

"That's because I don't like talking about him, or my mother, or my childhood." She said.

"And you don't have to now but I asked you how things were going between you and Mike and you started thinking about your father. Now, agent Moss, what does that behavior tell you about the subject?" Rick asked.

"Right, it looks like I need to get some shit off my chest. The question is, is it worth it to talk about everything? And two, am I willing to share it with you?" Olivia asked looking down at her small hand being held by Rick's bigger paw.

"Well, it's up to you. You can tell me anything. Whatever you say will be held in strict confidence by me. I might tell Jordan the broad strokes of this conversation but the details will never leave this room." Rick said.

"Okay." Olivia said letting go of his hand as the waiter came in with the appetizers and left. Rick took his fork and took a bite out of one of the crab cakes. He closed his eyes and grinned.

"It's good. You should try it." Rick said letting her off the hook. This was going to be a long meal. He could wait. But it seemed like she made up her mind because she started talking.

"My father was a good man. He owned half of an accounting firm. Ted Moss and Matthew Moltz, CPA. it was huge and well established business with a huge office of a dozen CPAs and many wealthy clients. My father was an only child and he was raised by his father after his mother died. He went to Harvard, got his accounting and business degrees. When he graduated he went to work for his father who promptly died of a heart attack. My father went from a college kid to head of an accounting firm over night. My mother," Olivia spat out the word like it was covered in dirt. "On the other hand was a opportunistic gold digging whore. She fucked her way up to a good station in life and she met my father at a country club. She just got out of college and she was on the hunt for a new man with money. The last one she killed. He was in his 60's and he had a bad heart. She fucked him to death." SHe said with a cold voice as she took a deep drink from her wine glass.

"When she met my father she hit the jackpot. My father was a quiet shy numbers man in his early thirties with early onset blading, thick glasses, and a beer belly. She was the third woman he ever saw naked and she took advantage of him. Fucked him, gave him shit he didn't even know he could get, real pron shit. She married him, got control of his money, and had me to keep him happy. She fucked everyone she wanted to behind his back and that kept her happy. She started feeding him junk food, booze, and candy until he became a 400lb diabetic. After she became a full time agent she got bored with him and he wasn't dying fast enough for her so she kicked him out of the house, got a divorce, and after she took everything from him she could she was gone. The last thing she did was hand me off to him. I was three. He raised me for ten years until he died from a massive heart attack. He was 48 years old. He knew he had a bad heart and his family had a long line of dying young. He was trying to lose weight, eat healthy, he was trying to overcome the damage that whore did to him." She said as tears fell down her cheeks. She wiped them off with her napkin and drained her glass. Rick took her hand and ran his thumb over her knuckles.

"This all sounds terrible. Your life was a greek tragedy." He said softly.

"The tragedy was just staring. That bitch showed up to the funeral with a date. Some guy in his twenties. She made out with him in the back of the church during the service and fucked him in the bathroom like a whore. She made sure everyone there could hear her moans. She didn't even recognise me at first because she never visited me as a child. I was barely 14. She took me in begrudgingly and promptly sent me off to a reform boarding school for troubled kids. She said it would make me hard. She said I was weak and stupid. I am the way I am because I had to grow up fast or I found myself on the wrong end of a ass kicking. I learned how to be a conniving, cheating, sadistic bitch. When I got out I focused every ounce of anger I had in me at her. I wanted to destroy her. I hated her so much that I wanted to kill her. When I got out I moved in with her. I saw how she fucked her way to the top in the FBI and I saw how she got off on the power she had in the bureau. I knew that killing her wouldn't do anything to her. I needed to beat her at her own game. I studied her. Watched the way she acted. How she used people. I knew the way to beat her would be to join the FBI and become better than her. I would run the fucking bureau one day and when I was more famous than she was I would crush her. Black flag her for something, fire her and make sure her career ended in a big flaming scandal. And on the day she's escorted out of the building I would be standing in the lobby laughing at her." Olivia said with an evil grin on her face. It was a look Rick knew all too well. He saw it on a few killers faces as well as his own face. Olivia had the capacity to kill, she had that thing inside of her that allowed some people to plan and execute a murder. He had it too. It's what allowed him to write the horrible things he did, and put himself in the mindset of a killer.

"You and I have something in common, we have the capacity to murder someone. It's a darkness in the back of our minds that lives and plays in our nightmares. How many times have you dreamed about killing your mother?" Rick asked calmly.

"What makes you…" She started to say but he interrupted her.

"Because it's probably the same amount of times i've thought about killing my ex-wife. You're not the only one with a darkness. I channeled my darkness into writing and now I channel it into solving cases." Rick said finishing his crab cake and pushing the plate to her. "Here eat this before it gets cold. Also try the mozzarella sticks." Rick said refilling her glass.

"You say something like that and you just expect me to eat?" She asked.

"Yes. you have sociopathic tendencies and you should be able to bounce right back up onto your feet and have a normal meal. I know I can." Rick said with a gentle smile.

"You got something right, you're fucking crazy." She said picking up her fork and cutting into the jumbo crab cake.

"But i'm right. Look there is nothing wrong with being a little crazy. Especially if you're going to do the job we do. Two weeks ago I shot a man dead that was holding you at knife point. I felt bad for a few minutes until I thought about all the bad shit that guy did. He killed four women, his own wife included and he slit deputy Bob's throat. He was holding you at knife point and he would have had no issue slitting your throat. The only thing I feel bad about was not shooting that prick earlier that day. I was sitting in his living room that afternoon. I knew something was off about him and I didn't act on that gut feeling. If I had listened to my gut we could have saved two lives that day." Rick said.

"I hope you're not beating yourself up about that still. Because there is nothing you can do about it. Life doesn't work like that, if it did I would have been able to see the early signs of my father's heart attack that night. I would have been able to save his life and I would have been able to grow up a normal little girl." She said.

"Did I mention that replaying your failures is the other downside to the darkness in your head?" Rick said with a smile.

"Guilt." She said nodding.

"Not guilt, guilt is deserved. It's earned. This is guilt that's not yours. It belongs to someone else but you carry it in the darkness of your head anyways. The key is to use it. Use the feeling of guilt to push yourself harder. Any time I feel tired when we're working a case I think about all the shit I didn't do or the people I couldn't save and it fuels me. It makes me fight harder. Working cases as a Jr. Agent has added so much guilt on top of my everyday guilt. Anytime we're on a case and a body drops before we can get to the guy it's on my head. I know it's not really my fault but the darkness in my brain says 'yes it was. If you would have worked harder. If you would have found that little piece of evidence sooner. If you were smarter, then that person would still be alive.' I take that guilt and I use it." Rick said as the waiter came to take the plates away and bring them their steaks and sides. When he left Olivia looked at him sadly.

"On the one hand it's hard to hear you talk about this stuff. You're telling me what's inside my head. You're giving the destructive side of my brain a name, but on the other hand it's nice to hear i'm not alone." She said.

"You're not alone. But what you need to understand is that Mike will understand this. He's been shadowing me for two months now and he knows what it's like in my head. If he can understand and follow me then he can understand and love you." Rick said.

"There's that word." She said looking down at her food.

"What? Love?" He asked.

"Yeah, i've never been you know?" She said softly. "I don't think I can be." She added.

"You can love, you're just afraid to." He said.

"You think it's just a matter of fear?" She asked.

"I know it is. Your story about your father filled in all the details I needed. The last person you loved was your father. He died a sad and lonely man because of what your mother did to him. Now you're afraid to let yourself fall in love." He said calmly.

"Because I don't want to end up like my father?" She said making sure she understood him.

"That and you're afraid that if you love and depend on someone you'll lose them and you'll be alone again." He said confidently.

"But i'm alone now." She said laughing at the absurdity of his statement.

"But are you alone? You have your two friends the darkness and doubt. They are with you all the time. They tell you things like "if you're alone then no one can hurt you' or 'if you don't count on anyone then they can't let you down.'" He said.

"Okay Dr. Freud, how do I fix it then?" She asked as the smile fell off her face a bit.

"You need to have a long conversation with Mike. Mike is a good guy. He grew up heavy and nerdy and that means he's had to work harder for every bit of intimacy he ever got. He's not like you. You could walk into any bar in the world, flash any guy a smile and and a bit of cleavage, tell them to sleep with you, and most of them would follow you out of the bar. You've had dozens of meaningless sexual encounters. Mike has had two girlfriends. Both of them long term and both of them left him. You know, you're lucky you found Mike now." Rick said with a smile.

"Why's that?" She asked smiling at his words.

"Most hot women figure out something as they get older. Their looks start to fade and the cute guys at the bar stop saying yes. It's at this point they try a guy like Mike and that's when the blinding realization hits them. Guys like Mike will worship the ground you walk on for the rest of your days. They don't cheat. They don't flirt with other women, and most of all they will always find you attractive and want to be with you. Guys like Mike are as loyal as a golden lab and they're just as excited to be with you." Rick said.

"Mike is a big teddy bear." She said smiling a soft smile full of love. Her whole face light up when she said it and Rick whipped out his phone and took a picture. "What was that?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing much. Just proof you love Mike." Rick said turning the phone around so she could see that look on her face. She laughed at him as she took the phone but she stopped laughing as she looked at the picture.

"So this is what happy looks like." She said softly.

"It's been awhile since you've seen that face hasn't it?" He asked.

"12 years." She said with a sniffle.

"I think you and Mike need to sit down tonight and have a talk. When you get to the hotel sit him on the bed, shut off all the lights, let him hold you, and just talk. Talk until you have nothing left to say." Rick said smiling softly at her. She returned the smile.

"I think that sounds like a good idea." She said going back to her meal.

They ate in a comfortable calming silence after that. They didn't need to talk, they had nothing else to say. Instead Olivia pulled her chair around the table to be closer to Rick and he smiled as she sat down. He added a few onion rings to her plate and he handed her the steak sauce without her even asking for it. They finished the bottle of wine with Olivia drinking ⅔ of it. Rick asked for the check and handed the waiter the black card from his wallet. He signed the receipt and left a hand full of bills on the table. The waiter handed them four big shopping bags full of food and they walked out of the restaurant.


End file.
